Death Note: Chapter Zero
by TOkun92
Summary: Taro Kagami didn't want that horrible notebook of death anymore. So what did he do? Destroy it? No. If he did, then he may as well have killed him. So he gave it back. He didn't think Ryuk would give away his book again. But he did. A serial killer, named Kira on the internet, is now killing off the worlds criminals. Taro makes it his mission to find the book and make things right.
1. Prologue

**** Hello people who are reading this. My name is TOkun92, and I am here to present you my first Death Note Fanfic. I have another one in my head, but I'm leaving that one for later. I got the idea for this one when I found Marcus Absent's Death Note Fanfic, "The Secret Rule". I recommend reading it. I am a beginning writer, and it took me about three weeks to write and post this first chapter. Not out of writers block, but out of the Big G.L. (General Laziness). I'm hoping that by publishing this then I will be more motivated to write the rest of the story. I will post new chapters when I am at least two chapters ahead. For example, I already have Chapter 1, and am currently writing Chapter 2. Please don't forget to read and review. If you don't, then I'll write your names in my Death Note.

**Death Note: Chapter Zero**

**Prologue**

Taro Kagami looked at the book he had in his hands. It was a special notebook, but not in a good way. It was a notebook of death. The Death Note. A tool used by the Shinigami, Gods of Death, to take human lives to extend their own. Taro found this horrid book one day by chance; he thought it was an ordinary book, and decided to use it as a journal.

He wrote about how he was bullied by some classmates, and the next day, he found out that they had all died. Some detectives had questioned him on the deaths, deducing that these deaths couldn't have an accident or coincidence. A Shinigami by the name Ryuk had come to Taro, and told him of the Death Notes abilities. Ryuk gave Taro the Death Eraser, which could reverse the effects of the Death Note, bringing whoever it killed back to life. Taro used it to resurrect the people he killed, and he thought his ordeal was over.

When the detectives that questioned him are killed, as well the bullies from before, Taro realizes that there was a second Death Note. He confronted his friend Miura, who had also come across a Death Note, and saved everyone who he killed with the Death Eraser. In order to prove to the detectives that the Death Note was real, he volunteered to be killed and brought back with the Death Eraser. Miura apologized for the deaths, saying that he was desperate. Miura's Death Note is destroyed by the detectives, and it was believed that the threat was gone for good. But Taro never destroyed his, nor did he ever tell anyone of it's existence.

Taro recalled all of the events that took place. He couldn't believe that a book caused so much trouble. "Aren't you going to use it?" Taro looked behind him. Ryuk was laying on his bed eating an apple. He seemed to have an addiction to them. "It's getting boring just watching you stare at it."

"I'm not a murderer." Taro looked Ryuk in the eye. He really didn't want to, but he wanted to get his point across. He knew what he was going to do with it. Finally. "I'm gonna destroy it." He picked the book up and searched his computer drawing for a lighter or matches.

"WHAT?!" Ryuk yelled. He seemed a little scared, and that scared Taro in return. "You can't do that! I'll die if you do!" He stood up and looked at Taro, as if begging him to spare him.

"What do you mean you'll die?" Taro asked him. "You didn't die when the other book was burned."

"I know! I won't right away, but I will eventually! Shinigami survive by killing humans with that book. If you destroy it, I'm a goner!" Ryuk honestly seemed scared. Taro didn't want to run the risk of anyone else dying, but he couldn't exactly let Ryuk die. "Why not just give it back?" The way he said that last part made Taro feel worried for the Shinigami; he truly sounded afraid.

Taro sighed. He couldn't very well let Ryuk die. "Okay. Here." He held the book out to Ryuk, who grabbed it and sighed with a great relief. Taro began to reach for the Death Eraser. "I suppose you'll want-"

"No, no," Ryuk said quickly. "You keep that. I'm not gonna use it. Think of it as a thank you." Ryuk spread his wings, and as he took off for The Shinigami Realm, he gave Taro a quick nod. "Thanks again. Hope we see each other again!" With that, he flew off, heading back to his realm.

Taro couldn't help but hope that they would one day meet again. He actually liked Ryuk, despite what he did. He did help save all of the people he killed, so he couldn't be too bad. He held the Death Eraser in his hand. He actually liked it. 'I think I'll put in my safe box,', he thought.

Taro went to his bed and pulled a safe box from underneath it. He opened it, and looked at his collection of priceless possessions; his oldest action figure, which once belonged to his father. His collection of American State Quarters, which he kept in a ziplock bag. Several other things riddled the box. He put the eraser in the box, putting it underneath his quarter collection.

Taro walked to his window, where he could still see Ryuk as flew to his home. He kept watching until Ryuk disappeared, whether into a portal or just out of sight, Taro didn't know. He looked at his clock; it was almost 5 pm. He went to his school bag and took out his notebook, a regular, non lethal one, and began his homework.

Ryuk couldn't believe his luck. Both rotten and good. His second Death Note was destroyed by those detectives. He got that one from The Shinigami King, having tricked him into giving him a second one. He wanted to have some fun; he thought he could give the second Death Note to a human and see something interesting for once. He had dropped his original one after he gave Taro the second one. That human, Miura, picked it up. And that one got destroyed. If it wasn't more Miura being a softy, he probably would've burned his Death Note.

"What am I gonna do now?" Ryuk asked himself. "I doubt the old man will give me _another_ Death Note. He might kill me if he finds out I tricked him." Ryuk neared the protal to his realm, and flew into it. He saw his home once again; bleek, decaying, rotten. _Boring_.

He flew for some time. He passed a cave where he saw a Shinigami whose name he couldn't remember. He looked like a puppet, short and purple. He was looking into a window to the Human World. He ignored the Shinigami, and went about his thoughts. "I could give mine up, but then it might be destroyed when all the fun ends." Ryuk tried to think of something. He didn't want to die. But he couldn't stand this boredom any longer; he needed some excitement!

Ryuk a Shinigami sleeping on the barren floor. He got closer and recognized the Shinigami as Sidoh. Ryuk remembered Sidoh losing his Death Note several times, and was unable to get a second one from the old man. It was luck that he found it every time. Even if it was a few decades.

When he lost it for good, and the old man wouldn't give him another, seeing as how often he would lose his, he was given another Death Note by a Shinigami named Rem, who had recieved one from The Shinigami King upon asking. Rem was one of the only female Shinigami left. Rem had been known for being soft, never killing a person with her Death Note if they were good people.

Ryuk looked at Sidoh sleeping. He had his Death Note several feet away from him. 'I could take his,' Ryuk thought. Sidoh would never think it had been stolen; he probably would have assumed he had lost it again. Ryuk saw his chance, and swiped his book. Ryuk went to the portal he was at before, and dropped the book.

He decided to wait a while this time before showing up; if he showed up to quickly, the person may freak out. While waiting, Ryuk remembered the detectives from before; they would know that a Death Note was responsible for everything once it was used. There would be no fun. Ryuk took out his own notebook, and wrote down the names of everyone who had been involved in the whole, killing every single one with disease or an accident. All except one. Taro.

Ryuk let Taro keep The Death Eraser as a thank you for giving him back his Death Note. He felt that killing him would have been kind of wrong; after all, he basically saved him. He remembered a human phrase, 'It would be a dick move.'. And he thought of another thing; Taro would probably get involved. It would be more fun for him. Everything seemed to be going good.

Ryuk couldn't wait to go back. Just the thought of something exciting happening was almost to much to bear. But he knew it would be worth it. He heard of Death Notes being dropped in the Human World before, but that was centuries ago, when the humans weren't as civilized as they are now. Back then, it was chaos. Now it was all about order. He couldn't wait to see it.

So how was it? Good? Bad? Neither? Please remember to leave a comment, as well as your name and photo. How did you like the bit with Sidoh?


	2. Kira

** Hello. I'm TOkun92. Despite what I said in the prologue, I do not own a Death Note. So don't worry if you give a bad review. Also, I don't own the Death Note show or the manga. I've never read the manga, and I never intend to.**

Chapter 1: Kira

Taro was mortified when he returned to school to hear that Miura had been hit by a car and killed on impact. He felt bad for him; he had only just gotten everything together in his life. But he was shocked when the bullies from before were all killed as well, dying from using drugs. Only when he was watching the news did he realize none of these were natural deaths; it was Ryuk. The news reporter told of how two well decorated, and well respected, detectives recently died; one from lung cancer, due to his constant smoking of cigarettes, and the other of suicide, which was assumed to be from job related stress.

Taro wondered when he would die; it was only a matter of time. He figured that Ryuk was scared that the existence of Shinigami may be dangerous for him. He waited. An waited. When a month passed by without incident, he was starting to think that the recent deaths really were just bad luck; those bullies were avid drug users, and Miura was rather clumsy. As for the detectives, well, they both looked haggered and haunted from their jobs, and he remembered seeing the one constantly smoking a cigarette.

But his hopes were dashed away in an instant. A month after all the deaths, people started to die of heart attacks all over the globe. Taro knew what it was; another Death Note was dropped into the Human World.

"Ryuk!" Taro spoke through clenched teeth, seething with anger. "You bastard!" Taro sat at his desk in his room, his elbows on the desk, his hands gripping his head. His computer monitor had a website on it; 'The Legend of Kira, The Saviour'. He couldn't believe he had given that book back to Ryuk. He should have destroyed it, but he didn't want Ryuk to die. If he did, he wouldn't be any better than a murderer.

Taro's attention was diverted to his television, which showed an American man speaking to the viewers. A translator was speaking in Japanese, though Taro didn't need it; he could speak fluent english. The man, Lind L. Taylor, told of the countless recent deaths of criminals all around the world. Taro hoped Kira wasn't the type to become corrupted with power and think of himself as God.

Lind L. Taylor continued to speak. "What you're doing right now, is evil." Taro felt sick to his stomach. Hopefully Kira wouldn't take it too personally. The man smiled after stating Kira's evil heart. He continued to talk, but after less than a minute of saying the word 'evil', the man clutched his chest and died on the spot. It seemed Kira was the type to think of himself as God.

Taro was surprised when an old english 'L' appeared on the screen. A voice spoke to out to Kira, telling him Lind L. Taylor was a death row inmate, who was scheduled to die today. Taro was impressed to say the least; not only had L proved Kira to be real, but he also correctly predicted that Kira would kill whoever opposed him, no matter who they were.

L went on to explain that he knew was in the Kanto region of Japan. Taro was surprised to hear that; he lived in the Kanto region. That meant that Kira was near him. Ryuk didn't even leave the region where Taro lived. "I've gotta do something about this.' Taro thought. 'This is all my fault.'

Taro shut his television off and sat down at his desk. He had to find Kira and the notebook before anyone else was killed. Taro then remembered that he still had the Death Eraser. "That must be it." Taro said. "Ryuk wanted all of this. He wants me to get involved. He knew I would." Taro laid back into the seat, looking at the ceiling. He sighed. He didn't want to think about it, but if he did get involved, it was highly likely that he would die. Even if he didn't get involved, the guilt would eat away at him.

"I have to stop this," he said. "This is all my fault." He sat straight and typed away at his computer; he tried to remember all of the rules that were written in the death note. He remembered the forty second rule, and the rule where you can write down how people can die. He typed in all he could remember, everything about the existence of Shinigami, the Death Note and the Death Eraser, and even what happened when he had it.

By the time he finished typing it was night. Taro looked at his clock; it almost ten o'clock. He saved all he had typed onto a flash-drive as well as his desktop, then went straight for his bed. If he really was going to catch Kira, then he would have to stay well rested. He closed his eyes and let himself fall into his dreams; tonight would probably be the last night he could fall asleep as easily as he was now.

**Hello to my faithful readers (Assuming I have them. Which I hope I do.). It took me a a while to write this one. It seems I was right about me actually writing more if I posted this now. I mean then. Please remember to comment; it inspires me to actually write, and not just sit around thinking of it in my head. If you have any suggestions, I welcome them. Please remember that all comments are welcome, whether you hate my writing or love it. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. Also, I found out that if you put a tootsie-roll in ice-cream, even if said ice-cream is kind of melted, then the tootsie-roll will be slightly crunchy. I figured I would add that.**

** One other thing; the lack of dialogue is due to my not wanting to copy everything L said. I'm sure you can understand. Also, I did originally write the chapter like that, but then I reformatted my computer, and I forgot to save it on my flashdrive. Stupid me.  
**


	3. Apples Are Best When Juicy

**So, if you don't know yet, this the third chapter, counting the prologue, of my fanfic "Death Note: Chapter Zero". I do not "Death Note" or anything you read here. I would like to say that Taro Kagami is only in the original draft of Death Note, not in the anime or in the subsequent manga. Please review. Seriously. I've only gotten one freaking review; that's not exactly inspiring. **

Chapter Two: Apples Are Best When Juicy

Taro looked at the world around him; people were neat, orderly, almost robotic. Everyone seemed to always have a smile on their face. Some were genuine, but most of them were forced. Taro saw a figure on a high building, sitting on a throne, though he didn't know how he could see from where he was on the street. The figure had several people around him, most of whom were bowing and praising him. Taro could hear them chanting. "Kira, The Saviour. Kira, The God." Over and over again they chanted the same thing.

Taro walked slowly to the building. Kira. The God of The New World. He sat on his throne watching the smiling masses. Taro saw him move, as he looked down at the masses. Someone, Taro didn't know who, stopped moving. The person just stood there, doing nothing. Taro looked back to Kira, and froze when he saw him writing in a black notebook. Taro looked back the person who stopped. The man had a forced smile on him, but it slowly faded to a frown, then to a warm smile. Taro knew what was happening; he was ending his suffering. Taro saw him collapse to the ground, holding his chest.

Taro bolted for Kira's throne. He pushed past the guards, who were also smiling eerie, forced smiles. They didn't try to stop him, they just let him pass. Taro reached Kira's throne and stared at him with cold eyes. "Kira!" He yelled. "You bastard! That person did nothing to oppose you! Why did you kill him?!"

Kira didn't answer. He merely looked at Taro. He grabbed a pen, and Taro rushed to him, tackling him to the ground, knocking over his throne. Taro still could not see the man's face; it shrouded in shadow that seemed to move. Taro began hitting him, never stopping for a second. Only when the shadows faded away did Taro stop. He stared Kira. He stared at himself. He was Kira. Taro Kagami was Kira, God of The New World. Taro felt someone tap his shoulder; he looked to see who it was, and saw none other than Ryuk. He smiled at Taro. He smiled at Kira.

Taro awoke in a cold sweat. His dream wasn't comforting to say the least. He looked at his clock. It was almost seven o'clock. He stood up and shut off his alarm clock before it could blaring. He had to be in school at eight; he had forgotten about school, he was so caught up in the whole Kira situation. He got dressed and went downstairs, where his mother was cooking over the stove.

"Taro, you're up already?" She said surprisingly. "You're never up this early." Taro could smell bacon and eggs being cooked on the pan his mother using.

"Yeah." Taro sat down at the table. His mother put a plate of what she was cooking in front of him. "I fell asleep pretty early." He didn't like lying to his mother, but he didn't want to worry her with the knowledge that he had a nightmare about him being Kira. That would probably worry any parent.  
Taro looked at the food in front of him; he picked at it with a fork, distracted with his thoughts. 'How can I help catch Kira?', he thought. 'Kira's obviously gonna follow the investigation. If he finds out I know about the Death Note, he'll kill me on the spot.'  
"Taro, honey, I know you have more time until you leave for school than you usually do," Taro Mother told him, "but if you play around with your food, you'll still late." Taro was one of those kids who tended to sleep in and get to school late. Taro was one of those below average students who was where he was in school because he was lazy.  
"Sorry Mom." Taro stuck the fork into the egg on his plate, and put it in his mouth. The egg was delicious, though Taro couldn't enjoy it. He finished the plate, and went back to his room to retrieve his schoolbag. He went back downstairs and bid his mother good-bye. He walked to school as he always did, for once getting there early; though he doubted that he could pay attention.

Taro sat in class, trying to keep his attention on the teacher. Taro tried to remember everything Ryuk had told him about the Death Note; although he spent all of yesterday typing all he could remember, he tried to think if he missed anything. Each class passed by without incident. Taro never really had any friends to begin with, so he didn't get distracted from his goal.  
In his last class, Math, Taro thought back to when Miura had killed those five bullies and the detectives. He wondered if they all ended up where he did. Taro didn't like to think about; he expected Heaven or Hell, but it was just ... nothing. He didn't like it. 'Does that mean God doesn't exist?' Taro thought. 'Is there no after-life?'  
"Hey, Taro." Taro looked to his left, and he saw Sayu Yagami, standing next to him. "Class is over. We can leave."  
"Oh." Taro stood up quickly; he had a little crush on her, and he didn't want her to think that he was so absent minded that he didn't even notice the end of school bell ringing.  
"Yeah, uh, thanks." Taro rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Come on, I'll walk you home." Taro and Sayu had been in the same classes ever since they were nine, usually being the only ones they knew in the whole class. As a result, they became good friends.

The two walked out of the school and headed for Sayu's home. The two talked about the new subject in math, quadratic equations. "I don't get that stuff." Sayu said. "This is all too confusing."  
"Seems like everyone gets it but us. Why don't you ask your brother? He's supposed to be a genius, right?" Taro never actually went to Sayu's house, so he never had a chance to get to know her family. He did, however, know that Light Yagami, her older brother, was a genius; she always boasted about having a genius for a brother.  
"I already asked him." Sayu looked at Taro as they neared her house. "He's a good tutor, but it's still a little confusing." Taro kept his face foward, too nervous to look at her. Sayu frowned, and looked foward. "I'm getting a good hand on it though," she said with a sad tone.  
"That's good." Taro knew she would get it eventually; she's smart, like her brother. "Maybe you could tutor me when you master it," laughed.

The two came to Sayu's house, and Taro saw Light Yagami opening their gate. Sayu ran up to him. "Light!" She yelled. Light looked back the two teens, and gave them a wave. Taro ran to catch up with her. Taro saw Light had his suitcase in his right hand and a big bag of apples in the other. "Wow, you sure have a craving Light. How many apples do eat?"  
"Huh?" Light looked at the apples. "I like the taste and they're good for you. You should both think about eating more apples." Light put his suitcase down and took two apples out of his bag. He handed one to each of them. "Here. Eat up. They're nice an juicy."  
"Thank you," the two said in unison. They took the apples, and Taro immediately took a bite. He hadn't eaten lunch, so he was hungry for anything. "Wow. It is juicy." Taro took another bite, and soon finished off the apple. "That was satisfting."  
"Wow," Sayu said, "I forgot you didn't have lunch before." Sayu heard Taro's stomach growl, though he tried to regress it.  
"Is that so?" Light said. "Here, have another. I have plenty." He handed Taro another apple.  
"Thank you, Light." Taro pocketed the other apple, deciding to eat it when he got home. "Well, I'd better get going. With this whole Kira thing going on, my mother's been really worried. Wants me home straight away."  
"I don't blame her," Light said. "This Kira thing is pretty serious. But you should be safe as long as you don't kill anyone!" Light said jokingly.  
"Bye Taro!" Sayu said enthusiastically. "See you in school next week!" Taro walked off waving.  
"See ya!" Taro yelled. He hurried home as to not worry his mother.

Taro made it home before an hour passed after walking Sayu home. He opened the door and saw his mother cleaning the kitchen. "Mom," Taro yelled. "I'm home."  
"Oh, hi honey. You go up to your room, I'm just getting finished cleaning up. Dinner'll be ready at seven. We're having your favorite; spaghetti and meatballs!"  
"Sounds great Mom!" Taro yelled back. Taro walked up the stairs and went to his room. He pulled his flashdrive from out of his computer desk and inserted it into his computer. School was almost over, so Taro could focus more on Kira than if this were any other time. He opened the file containing all of the information regarding the Death Note, and continued his work. He wanted to make sure he had a record of everything, just in case something happened him. After today, Taro could focus all of his efforts on Kira himself.

**So, did you enjoy it. It was fun writing the dream sequence. I came up with that when I started to write the chapter. I remembered my last chapter ending with Taro falling asleep peacefully, so I thought I'd wake him up not peacefully. I would like to say that I have read the original Death Note involving Taro, but I will not read the rest. The only reason I read it was because I wanted to get a feel for the character, and I did.**


	4. How To Start

**I do not own Death Note or any of the characters portrayed in it. **

Chapter Three: How to Start

Taro thought that investigating Kira would be a lot easier, but it turns out that looking for a serial killer is hard. He couldn't think of anything to do. He tried going on Kira supporter web sites, thinking Kira would give orders to followers. But Kira was too smart for that. If he went around telling his followers what to do on his web sites, then Kira would have been caught by now.

Taro was in the subway walking to the train. Sayu hadn't been in school that day, so he didn't walk most of the way home walking to her house. Taro began to think that he wouldn't be able to do anything about Kira; it wasn't like television, where the hero finds the ability to do the impossible. There was the option of going straight to L, but it would probably be just as hard, if not harder, to locate him.

Taro stopped walking when he heard a groan from behind. He looked back and saw man, a worker in a store, collapse to the ground. Taro ran to help the man. He shook him, and several people crowded around them. A few others tried to help, but Taro knew it was pointless. He stood up to leave, when he noticed a man looking in horror at the sight.

Taro watched him walkaway, and decided to follow him. 'This has something to do with Kira, I know it!' Taro thought. He followed the man, focusing solely on him. The man went to a train, and Taro went on it as well. He made sure to sit not too close, but not too far.

Taro watched as the man began looking around, as if to see if he was being followed. 'Could Kira be near him?" Taro thought. If Kira was near, then all Taro would have to do is look for anyone with a book. Taro focused on the man, and could see him talking under his breath. 'Is he talking to himself?' Taro thought. Taro then remembered what Ryuk had said about the Death Note; only those who have touched it could see and hear a Shinigami. 'Could he be talking to Ryuk?'

Taro watched the man, but saw him doing nothing suspicious. He couldn't see or hear Ryuk anywhere, but he may have been hiding. Taro then saw him take an envelope and begin to write on it. Taro wondered what he was writing. It couldn't be names for a Death Note; it was just an ordinary envelope. Taro saw him put look at his laptop, and saw the man had a shocked look once he saw it. He once again began writing something on the envelope, and Taro became worried.

When the train stopped, the man stood up, put the envelope on the shelf above his head, and walk out of the train. He wanted to grab the envelope, but he couldn't without staying on the train. Taro walked out of the door closest to him, and froze when he saw the man grab his chest and collapse to the ground. He just stood there staring at the dying man. He noticed he was looking into the train as the doors were closing, and could see a faint shadow cast over the man. 'KIRA'S ON THE TRAIN!' Taro screamed inside his head.

Taro turned around to run back into the train, but the doors had already closed behind him. Taro banged on the door, trying to get someone's attention. He continued to bang on the door, even while the train began to move. Taro ran for the doors ahead of him, hoping to see a glimpse of the new owner of the Death Note, but the train went into the tunnel.

"He was there," Taro muttered to himself. "I had him." Taro was frozen with anger, hands clenched so tight into fists that his knuckles turned white, so much so he was unable to move from the spot where he stood. After a few minutes, Taro left the station, and began his walk home. He didn't want the police seeing him there.

He couldn't believe his luck, or rather lack thereof. Kira was right there on the train, and Taro just had to get off of it. He wondered who that man was, and why Kira had gone after him. But what Taro couldn't figure out was the deal with the envelope. What had the man written down? Why had he written it down? Who was he talking to? But most importantly, why had Kira taken such a big risk?

Taro was on his computer, and typed all of what had happened into his Kira file. He wrote about his suspisions, about the man talking to himself, and most importantly, about the envelope. Could the envelope have been the Death Note? Taro didn't see how it could be possible. 'It was envelope. So maybe it had something in it?' Taro thought.

Taro wrote what theories he had in a paper book. He didn't want to put anything into his Kira file unless he felt it was factual. He wrote whatever came to his mind, from the Death Note changing size, to there being a Death Envelope. Fed up with what he had written, Taro ripped the page out and threw it in his trash bin.

He sat back in his chair, when it suddenly hit him. He looked back at his book, and tore another page out. 'A page,' Taro thought. 'It was a page of the Death Note' It made perfect sense to Taro; a page of the notebook of death would probably be the same as if you wrote in the book itself. 'If so, then the envelope probably contained a page. Cutting holes into the envelope would let the Death Note paper be written in, but would also prevent someone from actually touching it, so they wouldn't be able to see Ryuk.'

Taro could only think of one word for Kira's plan; ingenious. He probably had the man write his own name down, as well as several others. He tried to think of who and what the man was, and could only come up with an investigation team assembled to catch Kira. This could be only reason, he thought, for the man to be killed, and for him to write in a Death Note; Kira needed the other names, and had him write down his own allies names.

Taro saved what he had come up with into his Kira file, and remembered something. He went to his bed pulled out his safe. He set it on his bed, opened it, and dug through it. He found what he was looking for, and took it out; the Death Eraser. He had forgotten to take it out of the safe since he began his investigation.

He looked at it, and tried to think of any use it could be in his investigation; he didn't want to bring back all the people Kira killed, that would consist mostly of murderers and other evil people. Taro couldn't think of anything to do, with it, and threw it back in the safe; he didn't want to carry it around and risk losing it, so it would be better kept in the safe.

A few days later, with no new breaks in the Kira Case, Taro decided to go straight to the police; he didn't want to risk any more lives, and decided to take the chance. After school was let out, Taro walked to the police station. He had brought his flash-drive with him, keeping it tied to a string around his neck; he didn't want to risk the chance of losing it. If he didn't do this, it would be unlikely he could actually help in stopping Kira. Taro brought his flashdrive with him, and was planning to show everything he had accumulated to the police.

While walking to the station he bumped into a woman. Taro stumbled, and saw the woman drop her purse, spilling the contents onto the concrete sidewalk. "I'm so sorry!" he apologized. "I wasn't paying attention." The woman began to pick up the contents of her purse from the ground. "No, let me."

"Thank you," the woman said. "I was distracted; sorry for bumping into you." Taro helped her pick up her stuff. Taro saw the usual girl stuff; make-up, lip stick, a wallet. He picked the wallet, which was had opened upon it's fall, and saw her I.D.; Naomi Misora; 'She's with the FBI?'. He handed her the rest of her stuff, and once again apologized. He began his walk back to the police station, noticing the woman, Naomi, was walking the same way.

"Where are you heading?" She asked. "You seem to be in a bit of a hurry." Naomi looked down at Taro; she was pretty tall, he noticed.

"I'm heading for the police station." Taro looked at the woman. "What about you?"

"Me too." She looked foward. "I work there. I'm Shoko Maki."

'Shoko Maki?' Taro thought. 'Her I.D. said Naomi Misora.'

"Hello Miss Maki," Taro said. "I'm Taro. Taro ..." He stopped himself. He hadn't thought of his name; if Kira ever found him, he would write his name down. 'I've gotta use a fake name.' ... Lawliet." 'I hope that's a name.'

"Why are you going to the police station?" She looked at Taro. "Are you reporting something? If so, you can tell me."

Taro thought about what he should do; this woman lied to him about her name, but it was probably for her own safety. 'If she's with the FBI, and she's using an alias, she must be going against Kira. Everyone investigating him must be using one' "I'm just going to see my uncle," he decided on saying. It was best if he kept everything to himself. "He's a police officer, and I wanted to see him about The Kira Case."

"The Kira Case?" She asked. "I'm actually working on it myself. I have some information about it that may help in the investigation."

'Wait, what?' Taro thought. 'I wonder what she knows.'

"Really? What information do you have?"

"I have a theory on how Kira kills. I believe he can manipulate his victims, making them do whatever he wants."

'Control them? Did Ryuk say that the Death Note could that? I can't remember.' "That's an interesting theory. What do you base it on?"

"My fiancee died not too long ago, and he was part of The Kira Investigation Task Force. I think he got close to Kira, and that's why he was killed."

"I'm sorry to hear to that." Taro remembered the news reporting that several FBI Agents had been killed, most by Kira. Taro figured that's what the guy in the subway was doing; he was probably forced to write all of the names.

"I want to make Kira pay for killing him. I've worked with L before, and I know I could help in finding Kira!" Taro was shocked to hear her say that she knew L; if she was telling the truth, then he could probably meet L! With the information about the Death Note, L would probably find Kira in the same day!

They walked to the station in silence, both talked out. As they neared the station, Taro's phone rang . Without stopping, Taro grabbed his phone from his pocket and looked at the caller i.d.; it was his mother. 'I told her I would be home late. I wish she'd stop being so overprotective.' He flipped the phone open and was surprised when he heard a man's voice instead of his mother's.

"Is this Taro Kagami?" The voice asked.

"Yeah." Taro replied. "Who is this? Why do you have my mother's phone?"

"I'm sorry, but you need to come to the hospital. I'm afraid your mother's had a heart attack."

'What?' Taro thought. 'Was is Kira? Does he know about me? Did he see me on the train?'

"WHAT!?" Taro yelled into the phone. "What happened? Is she okay?

"She's fine." Taro could hear him talking to another person. "It was just a stress related heart attack; we need you to come here."

"I'll be right there!" Taro shoved his phone in his pocket and began to run. He stopped and turned back to see Miss Misora looking at him. "Miss Misora!" Her eyes widened; he said her real name. Taro would have explained himself, but he was in a hurry. He tore his flash-drive off the string around his neck, and put it in her hands. "Please, give this to L! Don't let anyone else but him see this! Okay?"

She looked shocked, but still managed to whisper a small, "Okay." Taro left her wide eyed and silent. He didn't know if what he did was smart, but he could tell that he could trust her; there was something in her eyes that told him that she was one of the good guys.

Taro had come back from the hospital; he was gonna stay, but his mother asked him to get her a change of clothes. He gathered a shirt and some sweatpants, and left for the hospital. The doctors said she would be fine, but wanted to keep her over night for observation. Taro was glad nothing serious happened; a small heart attack induced by stress, rather than illness.

With his mother in good hands, Taro wondered if Miss Misora had given the flash-drive to L yet; he could only hope. He knew he could trust her. He packed up what his mother asked for, locked up the house, and left for the hospital. He would have his answer tomorrow, whether it was good or bad.

**So? How do you like it? I love screwing Taro. It's fun for some reason. Please leave a review or comment.**


	5. Undercast

****HAPPY NEW JERSEY HALLOWEEN! I WOULD HAVE POSTED THIS ON THE REAL HALLOWEEN, BUT DUE TO THE FLOODING OF MY HOUSE, I GOT POSTPONED! TODAY NEW JERSEY IS CELEBRATING HALLOWEEN, SO I THOUGHT THIS WAS THE NEXT BEST THING! HAVE FUN AND DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT!

**Chapter Four: Undercast**

Naomi Misora stood on the sidewalk, staring at the boy who had run off; he had called her Naomi Misora, yet she told him a different name. She looked at what the boy had given her; a flashdrive. She wondered who the boy was, how he knew her name, and just what was on the flashdrive. She wanted to return to her home and find out, but she was already so close to the station that she decided to go there anyway.

She thought of the boy as she walked; he had run off in a hurry, worried about his mother. She wondered what he could possibly know about The Kira Case, or possibly even Kira himself. She thought of several things; he knew Kira, he had come into contact with him, and even that he _was_ Kira. _'I doubt it,'_ she thought. _'If he was Kira, he would no doubt have killed me here; he somehow knows my name, so he could it if he were Kira.'_

Naomi found herself standing in front of the station not long after the strange boy left. She walked into the station, hoping L was in there; she remembered working with him, or as some would say, under him, a few years ago. The case had been the Beyond Birthday Killer; it was a tough case, but L was able to crack it. She admired L, but like everyone else, she had never seen him in person.

Naomi walked to the front desk, and tried to get the police officer to take her to the task force heading The Kira Case. He told her that many of the detectives, in fact, most of the people working the case, had stopped; he told her that many of them demanded to be reassigned, or they would quit.

"But I need to see L," she said, "I have important information regarding The Kira Case, and I need to see L."  
"The Kira Case?" Naomi looked to her left and saw a handsome young man standing there. He had a bag of clothes in his hand. "You're working on The Kira Case?"  
"Yes," she said. "And I have important information about Kira that L needs to know. But this man won't tell me where the task force headquarters is." She gestured to the man behind the desk, who smiled nervously; he was obviously intimidated by the woman.

The young man put the bag he was holding on the desk. "Hey, this is a change of clothes for my father, Soichuro Yagami," he told the man that Misora was talking to. "He's the chief here."

"Yeah, I know." The man took the bag. "Say, when are you gonna join the task force Light? I bet you'd be a great help."

The young man, Light, laughed. "I'd love to help, but I have a lot on my plate with schoolwork. Not mention the entrance exams for University!" He rubbed the back of his head and laughed.

Naomi turned to the man again. Before she could start talking again, the man interrupted her. "I'm sorry miss Maki, but I don't know where the task force is; even if I did, I wouldn't be allowed to tell you."

Naomi turned and walked off in a rage. "Wait up!" She looked behind her and saw the young man hurrying towards her. "Can I talk to you?"

Naomi wanted to return home, but she knew if she did she would get nothing accomplished. 'He said his Dad was the chief,' she thought. 'Maybe I can get to L through him.'

"Sure." The two walked out of the building and began walking. She didn't know where she was walking to, only knowing that it wasn't home. "So your Dad is the chief here?"

The young man looked at her. He smiled as he talked, "Yeah, he's working on The Kira Case. It's been hard on him, but if anyone can do it, he can."  
"He sounds like a very brave man. Anyone willing to go up against Kira should be commended." Naomi thought of Raye; he died trying to bring Kira to justice, and was afraid for the young man next to her.

"They should." The young man's smile disappeared, and a serious one took its place. "I promised my father that if anything were to happen to him, that I would do everything in my power to bring Kira to justice, and sentence him to death."

Naomi looked at the young man, and realized that they hadn't been formally introduced. "I'm sorry, my name is Shoko Maki. What's yours?"

"My name is Light Yagami." Light extended his hand, and Naomi took it. They let go and resumed their conversation. "So what was it that you wanted to tell L? Sounded important."  
Naomi didn't know why she telling him, just like she told that child, but she felt that he could be trusted. "I believe that Kira can control his victims into doing things. My husband, Raye, died a few days ago, after he had a strange encounter with a bus-jacker; he revealed his identity, and I _know_ that it was Kira on that bus; it had to be. It can't have been a coincidence."

"That's horrible! I'm sorry to hear about your husband." Light stopped walking, making Naomi do so as well. "Have you told the police this yet? Surely they would listen to his wife?"  
"No, I haven't. I think that Kira is part of the police force, and I don't want to alert him with my theory."

"Then why tell me?"

"Like I said, he's probably in the police force. You're much too young to be a police officer."

"Did you tell anyone else your theory? Seems like a good one."  
Naomi thought of the young boy she had encountered earlier, but she couldn't remember his name. "Yes, actually. A kid bumped into me when I was walking to the station; he said he had information on Kira as well. I can't remember his name though."

"A kid?" Light said shock. "Like a kid, kid? What did he tell you?"

"Nothing really." Naomi was about to show him the flashdrive, but remembered the child's words, _'Please, give this to L! Don't let anyone else but him see this! Okay?'._ She said she wouldn't let anyone else see it, so she kept it to herself. "I think he was just playing hero."

"Yeah, probably."

The two walked in silence for a short while when Light once again stopped.

'Why don't you give me your contact information? " Light reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Naomi stopped and looked at him. "I can have my father call you when he comes home. I don't know when that'll be, with Kira and all, but it's better than waiting."  
"Oh, thank you." Naomi gave the Shoko Maki, as well as her contact information. She still avoided giving away her real name to anyone. She watched as Light wrote on the paper; something seemed strange to her but she didn't know why. "I hope your Dad stays safe."  
The two resumed walking, and Naomi noticed Light looking at his watch. 'He must have an appointment or something,' she thought. 'Better not to be nosy.' A minute passed by in silence, and Naomi felt strange; she didn't know what the feeling was, but she didn't like it.

When Naomi reached the corner, she turned. Light walked into the street, but doubled back to Naomi. Naomi looked back as he hurried to her. "Wait!" He seemed distressed. "I need to talk to you!"

Naomi looked at him; she wondered why he was so distressed. "What do you need?" She was worried for him; he honestly looked scared. "Is something the matter?"

"I just can't lie to someone!" He blurted out. "I'm sorry, but I was raised never to tell a lie, and I believe that doing so is unforgivable!"  
"What do you mean you lied?" Naomi asked. "What did you lie about?"  
Naomi saw the boys eyes wander around. He seemed to be thinking fast, and thinking hard. "I'm sorry I lied, but I was told to do so," he said. "The truth is, I'm on The Kira Task Force."  
Naomi's eyes widened. She couldn't believe that a teenager was on The Kira Task Force; such a dangerous task for one so young. "What?" She asked. "How can you be on the task force; you're only a kid."  
"I may be young, but I'm one of the best and brightest in Japan." He seemed to have calmed down considerably. "I'm working with L and my father to catch Kira and bring him to justice! But L told us not to tell anyone, for fear of Kira killing us."

"Why tell me?" Naomi asked. "What if I'm Kira?"  
"I don't know why, but I feel I can trust you." Light looked deeply into her eyes. "And I can tell from your eyes that you're a good and trustworthy person."

"Well I am. If you really are working with L, please let him know I want to help. If not, then at least tell him my theory."

"I will. However, I don't think you told me your real name; it's extremely unlikely that someone chasing Kira would give their name away so freely. If you want me to really trust you, I need to see some kind of indentication."  
Naomi was surprised at the boys intuitiveness, and saw that him working alongside L was a definite possibility. "Okay." Naomi reached into her purse. "My name isn't Shoko Maki. It's Naomi Misora." She took out her wallet, which contained her FBI badge. She showed it to Light. "Thank you for trusting me."

Naomi saw Light smile. "No, thank you." He took the piece of paper from before and wrote something down. "Now that I know your name, I have something important to tell you."

Naomi started to feel strange again, just like before. "What is it? She asked.

Light waited a while before finally answering. "I'm Kira." Naomi's eyes widened and she knew what would happen next; she would die. The next thing she knew, she was walking away from Light, seeing only a fog. She didn't know why she was doing it, but she left Light, left Kira, and went somewhere she never would have gone; her death.


	6. Light After Dark

**Chapter 5: Light and After Dark**

Light sat in his room, on his computer chair, pondering what had happened earlier this day. He had only narrowly avoided having Shoko Maki, or rather Naomi Misora, expose him as Kira just hours ago. He wondered about what he would have done if he hadn't found out her name; he had thought of killing her with his bare hands, but that would leave a big mess. He couldn't afford it. He even thought of hiring someone. It would have been simple; have the person in question kill her, destroy the body, then kill the assassin with the Death Note.

But Light was a lucky person, and Naomi Misora wasn't. What were the chances of him running into her at that time? Zero to none, he'd say. But he had bigger things to worry about; Naomi Misora had mentioned how she had told her theory to some kid and she needed to find and eliminate him as quickly as possible. Light would have kept her alive in order to find the kid, but he had to eliminate Naomi as soon as possible. It was much too dangerous to keep her alive.

Light thought of the threat that a child would possess; how could a child be of any threat to him? Naomi had said that she believed that the kid probably had some random theory, and wanted to play hero, but what if the kid didn't? What if he knew something that could threaten him?

Light thought of anything that a child could know; perhaps the kid was a prodigy If so, the child could be a genius like L. If he was a prodigy, he might be able to find him. Light turned his computer on, and went to his usual website; he had to find this kid and eliminate him. _'I can't take any chances.'_ Light thought. _'I have to find this kid as soon as possible.'_

Light looked out his window and saw how dark it was. He then looked at his clock; it was almost nine, and he had school in the morning, so he would have to work fast. Light reduced his list of suspects by using school records, location, age, and everything else he could think of. The list was short, and he tried to think of what to do. He could easily kill them all, but that might attract attention from L; several children dying or disappearing without a trace would certainly alert L.

"Ryuk." Light looked behind him to see the Shinigami devouring an apple. "What do you think about this situation?"

"Huh?" Ryuk threw the rest of the apple in his mouth and chewed it to bits. "Gee, Light, you never ask me help." He swallowed the bits of apple still in his mouth. "That woman must have gotten on your nerves, huh? What with this mystery kid and all." Ryuk laughed.  
"Yeah. I'm not sure what kind of a threat a child may pose to me, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Even if the kid is just some attention seeking little brat, I still want to deal with it. Whether he's a real threat or a liar is of no consequence; both deserve to die."

"You should know by now that I'm not gonna help you." Ryuk picked up another apple from the bowl that Light placed for him; if he didn't feed him apples, Ryuk would bother him for them, and he didn't want the annoying Shinigami begging him for fruit. "I can tell this one's going to be nice and juicy!" He threw the whole apple in his mouth, and chewed it to nothing. "HA!" he said with a mouth full of apple. "KNEW IT!"

"Hhh." Light sighed. He knew Ryuk wouldn't be any help, even if he wanted to be of some. "I can't just kill a bunch of kids without being noticed by L. Perhaps I should keep investigating this, then decide later on what I should do. I'd just hate to leave a threat out there that I know nothing about."

Light swiveled in his chair around and stood up. He coudn't do anything about this mystery child until he found out more about them. With nothing else on his mind, Light switched off his light and went to his bed. He couldn't afford to lose sleep over a threat he couldn't even deal with at the moment. Light went to sleep thinking of this mystery child, and what kind of a threat he or she could make.

Ryuk looked at Light as he slept. Light seemed to be thinking even in his sleep. Ryuk laughed. He knew who this mystery child was. It was Taro Kagami, the original owner of the Death Note that Light now owned. Ryuk wondered about what Taro would do next; he saw him on the train when Light manipulated Raye Penber into writing on a page of the Death Note, and thought that he saw him. Apparently he hadn't seen him, and only noticed Penber.

Ryuk left Light's house and flew around the human realm; nothing exciting happened when Light was asleep, and he hated waiting for him to wake up. He flew around, stopping to watch the occasional human commiting a crime, wondering if Light, Kira, would kill them in the morning.

He kept flying, spending the next couple of hours looking for something interesting. Watching humans killing each other wasn't much fun unless their was a reason behind it. He flew past a house that gave him a feeling of deja vu. Ignoring this, he continued his flight, but still wondered what felt so familiar about that house.

The Shinigami flew for the next hour until he came across a woman, some blonde girl, whose life span, he noticed, was shortening to zero. It was about two in the morning, so Ryuk was sure that she would be mugged, being killed in the process. The girl had less than an hour of life, and Ryuk, curious, followed her. He also wanted to see her name and face; he couldn't see her name he was so far away. He wanted to see how she would die, and wanted to know her name; not because he cared, but because he was bored. He flew to her, taking his time; she had a good ten minutes until she died.

He flew over the girl until he abruptly stopped; he knew where he had seen that house before. That was Taro's house. Ryuk laughed, and doubled back to where Taro lives. He wondered how Taro would react to seeing him again.  
Ryuk flew to Taro's house, and entered by going through his wall. He expected to see a sleeping Taro, but saw instead an empty bed. _'Where is he?'_ Ryuk thought. He searched the house, looking for anything that would tell him where Taro went. He found nothing, not even his mother. He wondered where he was. He waited to see if Taro would come back, but when he saw the sunlight through the window, he flew off. He didn't want Light to know that he left for the night; not because he cared, but because he didn't want him to know about Taro. If Light knew about Taro, then there would be less fun.

Not finding anything, he decided to leave. Ryuk flew off, heading back to Lights', but first headed for where the girl was. He wondered how she died; sickness, murder, accident. He made it to where she was, and flew around, trying to find her body. He saw a body on the ground, and flew to it. He instead saw a man, on the ground, dead. The man had a knife in his hands, and Ryuk was confused as to what had happened. Though he wondered what occured, he left the body, hurrying to Lights' house before he awoke.

Light awoke as the sunlight entered his room; his thoughts were immediately on the mystery kid who Naomi Misora had mentioned. He wondered what he could do, but with it being first thing in the morning, he did not feel up to thinking too hard. He stood up to see Ryuk devouring an apple.

After Ryuk swallowed the rest of his apple, Light got out of bed. He walked his closet to get changed into his school clothes. As he was changing, Ryuk asked him questions about what he would do about the mystery kid.

"I can't think of anything right now. Maybe when I wake up I can think of something to."

"Well, you might wanna think about it soon," Ryuk said. He laughed in a way that told Light that the Shinigami knew something.

"Do you know something about this kid?" Light asked.

"Why would ask something like that?" Ryuk asked.

"Because whenever you laugh like that, you usually know something I don't; and most of the time it's extremely important!"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." Ryuk laughed. "Either way, I'm not saying anything."  
"Hhh," Light sighed. "I'm not even going to bother. I won't let you annoy me anymore than you already do." Light tied his tie into place and grabbed his bag; he had to be at school, and he didn't like being late.


	7. ABC's

**Hello everyone, and allow me to introduce Chapter Six of Death Note: Chapter Zero! I worked hard on this one. Please, Read & Review. I had fun writing this chapter, and I hope you have fun reading it. Enjoy.**

**Chapter Six: ABC's**

L watched the videos following Raye Penber's death once again. He had watched over a thousand times in the past four months, but something about still eluded him. He watched as a boy, who he believed to be around twelve or thirteen, follow Raye Penber up until his death. Raye Penber had been one of twelve FBI agents to come from America in order to help in capturing Kira. He had also been the only one to exhibit stranger behaviour before his death.

L watched the different recordings from several televisions. The boy had bumped into Penber at a station, and had begun to follow him. Shortly after his following him, a man, a criminal, had died of a heart attack. The boy followed Penber from afar, staying far away from him. _'Why follow from such a distance?'_ L thought. _'What if he were to lose Penber? Was he just extremely cautious, or ... what?'_

He had tried to locate the boy, but the cameras never caught his face; someone or something always blocked his face. L watched the one scene that always bothered him; Raye Penber left the train he had taken, and the boy had left as well, using the door furthest from Penber. Penber then collapsed to the ground, dead, the boy frozen in his place. He ran to Penber as the train sped away. He looked at Penber, then the train. He seemed to have realized that someone on the train had caused his death, and proceeded to run after the train, banging on it as he ran.

L wanted to know who this child was, and why he was following Penber. He'd wondered if the child was Kira, and that he was wrong about Kira being a college student. It seemed plausible to him; Kira was cleary extremely intelligent, and L wondered if he had actually made it _look_ like he was a college student just to throw them off of his tracks. There was only a five percent chance of the child being Kira, but went down to one percent after he chased after the train.

_'Could the child have just stumbled upon Penber, then sensed that something was off?'_ L quickly did his calculations in his head, trying to figure out the chances of his latest theory. He came up with 37 percent, which was much higher than his usual five. _'He bumped into Penber, then saw the man die in front of him. It makes sense, but why not come to the police? Could he be afraid of Kira? No, if he was, then he wouldn't have bothered following Penber. And he certainly wouldn't have gone chasing after the train.'_

As L contemplated the likeliness of the child's involvement in Kira, he was given a phone call from the Kira Task Force Information Office. He was told that Naomi Misora, Raye Penber's fiancee, had been missing since his death. He knew that name from somewhere, but couldn't place it. He had Watari look her up, and recognized her as being one of the operatives working under him in the B&B Case. He remembered her as being a strong and very intelligent investigator; she was a legend in the FBI, and her opinion was highly valued when it came to tough cases.

The other members of the Task Force, Matsuda, Mori, Yagami, and the others, had said that she probably committed suicide from grief. But L remembered Naomi Misora; he remembered her as being a strong woman. He knew that she would most likely search for Kira herself, but that Kira most likely found her first. He ordered for the people's homes that Raye Penber followed to be bugged with cameras and wire taps; he was going to catch Kira at any cost necessary, and he didn't care about any civil rights scandal.

As an extra precaution, L ordered for any surveillance camera footage near the police station to him so he could see if Naomi ran into anyone. He ordered for nearby stores, schools, and any other place that had cameras to be brought to him. L was sure that Kira had met Naomi on her way to the police station; he was probably keeping tabs on every police station he could in order to prevent his capture.

Every day he would watch The Yagami Household with the chief, Soichuro Yagami. As a courtesy to the chief, only L and himself would watch his family. L was convinced that Light Yagami was Kira; he told the other members of the task force that it only a five percent chance, but he didn't factor in his gut instincts. He never factored in his gut instinct because there was no room in it for the court of law, but he always went with it; it was how he had caught Beyond Birthday, and he knew he could only catch Kira if he followed it now.

A few days after watching the Yagami family, L had finally recieved the surveillance footage from nearby places where Naomi was last seen; the police station. He watched the footage intently, never keeping his eyes off it, making sure he didn't miss a thing. He saw nothing of interest; some of the footage had Naomi in it, but only for mere moments.

Surrounded by his multitude of sweets, L watched the videos from surveillance cameras taken from stores, homes, and other places. Most of the footage had been erased, taped over, but L felt that it was worth the try; maybe one of them wasn't erased, either out of laziness or paranoia. L was eating a donut covered in chocolate creme, not seeing anything. While licking the creme off his donut, L saw something that intrigued him; he was watching footage from a convenience store, which had Naomi walking on the sidewalk. Naomi had bumped into someone. _'Is that ...?'_ L inched closer to the television, positive he was right. _'It's that kid from the train. He bumped into her. He bumped into Naomi.'_ He watched as the child, who L couldn't help but fear a little, helped Naomi pick up the contents of her purse, which had spilt all over the concrete.

L watched as the two walked off. He immediately switched to the next video, fast fowarding until he saw either Naomi or The Boy. He soon the found them, and played the video. The two continued their walk, and L could see that the two were talking; it was too far away to read their lips, and L cursed that.

L continued to watch the footage, and was even more intrigued when he saw the boy answer his cell phone. He stopped where he was, as did Naomi. He then ran off, and stopped immediately soon after. He turned around, ripped something off his neck, and clasped Naomi's hands; he was telling her something, looking her deep in the eyes; L could tell that it was extremely important to The Boy. The Boy then ran off again in a hurry; he had somewhere else to be, and L wondered where that somewhere was.

_'That same kid from the train footage is on here with Naomi Misora. I wonder what he handed her. And why did he leave in such a hurry?'_ L pondered what he saw, barely focusing on the video he was watching. He thought of how he could find The Boy on the video; he seemed to be everywhere L looked. _'I have to find him. He must know something.'_

"Watari!" L pushed the button that connected his intercom to the old man. "Inform the others that I need to meet with them. Right now!"

"Certainly L." Watari replied.

L waited for the others to show up. L's stomach ached from hunger, making the detective remember he was eating his donut. He brought his hand up to lick the chocolate creme, but instead licked his hand. He looked at his hand, then looked around for his donut; it was one of his favorites, and began to panic when he couldn't find it.

L then saw it on the floor; he must have dropped it while watching the video with The Boy and Naomi meeting. He couldn't help but feel sad; a wonderful sweet gone to waste. He picked up the donut, trying not eat it. Watari always said never eat food that landed on the floor. Cursing the loss of his donut, he got up and threw it in a trash can.

Sitting back down, he grabbed his bowl of chocolates and began eating them; he always ate sweets, ever since he was a small child. He liked the taste. He remembered how happy he was when he was at Wammys House. Ever since he started his detective work, ever since he saw the dark underbelly of humanity, everything seemed to taste bitter to him. Now all he ate was sugar, to counteract the bitter taste.

The other memebers of The Kira Task Force showed up, let in by Watari; Watari stood at the door, having come earlier. They all seemed tired, though L wondered why. He looked at the clock, only then realizing that it was past two in the morning; he didn't think it was so late. "L!" L turned his head to look at Soichuro Yagami. "What did you uncover about Kira?"  
"Huh?" L said. "Oh, nothing new about Kira." The others looked at him with an annoyed look.

"Then why did you wake us up at this ungoldy hour?!" Aizawa yelled.  
"The reason I called you here is because of that." He pointed at the several televisions he had set up. He set them up for every video that had The Boy in it, including the one with Raye Penber. "I found that kid from the train footage walking with Naomi Misora."  
The others were stunned. They quickly went for the televisions. "He's right." Matsuda said. "He's right there. He looks like he's talking to her. L, how did you catch this?"  
"Hard work and keen eye for details." He said. "We need to find that kid; it can't be a coincidence that he ran into both Penber and Naomi."  
"What are the chances of this kid knowing something?" Mr. Yagami asked. "Five? Ten percent?"

"No," L said. "More like fifty percent. Maybe fifty five."

"Really?" The Chief asked. "That high?"

"Yes. Not only that, but take a look at this." L took the remote for one of the televisions, and played the one where The Boy left Naomi after handing her something. "The Boy handed something to Naomi after recieving a phone call. "

The others looked at the television, seeing what L had just said happen.

"Now," L said." I want to get the student files for every school in the area where The Boy was seen; he was in the train station where he followed Penber, and that station is near where he bumped into Naomi Misora, so he must live in the area."  
"Shouldn't we just do elementary schools?" Asked Matsuda. "I mean, that kid can't be more than ten. Twelve at the oldest."

"You're right Matsuda," the Chief told him. "It's a waste of time and resources."  
"No!" L yelled. "What if The Boy is a prodigy of some kind? Or what if he's skipped grades? Without a good look of his face, we can't narrow down the search, so we'll go through every school until we find him!"

"Yes, you have a good point," Mr. Yagami realized. "It seems unlikey that an ordinary elementary student would be this mystery child."

"Wait a minute, how did you get this footage?" Ukita asked. "It's been months since Naomi Misora disappeared; wouldn't the tapes have been erased, taped over?"

L had thought of the same thing; Watari had gone to get the tapes, paying the shops and other places handsomly for their cooperation. "Yes, most would have." L picked up a piece of chocolate and put it in his mouth. "However, one of the shop owners has a major case of OCD; Obsessive Compulsive Disorder."  
"I know what OCD is." Ukita interrupted.

"Yes, I thought you would." L said. "Anyway, the shop owner kept every tape his surveillance camera's recorded. He also kept them organized, keeping them in order of date. Very convenient for us, if I do say so myself."  
"One more thing." L looked at the team. "I want to get hospital records from all nearby hospitals; The Boy ran off for some reason, and judging from his rush, I'd say that someone important to him was hospitalized, and that would certainly help narrow down the search."

"That's great!" The Chief said. "But we'll get to that tomorrow; it's late, and we should get some sleep. We'll be back in the morning L. We all need some sleep, and that means you as well L; you look even more tired than usual."

"Yes. You maybe right." The other members of the task force left L and Watari, to return home, to their families. "Watari?"

"Yes L?" Watari had walked over to get some blankets for L, and brought them over to the couch; he knew L would sit on the couch and watch the surveillance footage until his body could no longer stay awake.

"Do you think that the child or Kira could be someone from Wammys' House?" L had thought of it before, and even went so far as to think it was possibly Near or Mellow, his two most talented pupils. But the boy didn't match Near's habits and rituals, and Mellow would rather work in the shadows. But perhaps there was a child there he didn't know.

"I don't think so." Watari said. He knew that L had wondered about his old home, and feared that Kira was from there. It certainly made sense; Wammys House was home to the worlds most gifted children, and it stood to reason that someone from there would most likely be Kira. But Watari knew every child there. "I know everyone there, the children and the adults; I don't believe any of them would do such a thing as Kira does. But The Boy could be; we instill very high morals into the children, as you well know, and one of them could be trying to catch Kira themselves."  
"That's what I'm afraid of." L sat on the couch. Watari put the blanket around L, who still watched the televisions. "I don't want Kira finding out about Wammys House; if he does, I could never forgive myself."

"He won't," Watari said. "You would never let that happen." With that, Watari left L's room, leaving him with his own thoughts.

"You're right, Watari." L said to no one. "I won't."

**So, what did you think? I think the next chapter will be with L again; I want to start another off with something I had fun with before. Read & Review please. Until then!**


	8. A Second Kira?

**** **Sorry for the long wait****. Had some writer's block. Hope you all enjoy it. Next chapter should come out sooner than this one did. Read & Review please.**

* * *

**Chapter Seven: A Second Kira?**

Taro walked to school, contemplating the loss of Naomi Misora, the F.B.I. agent he had given all of his information on Kira to; she had gone missing, disappearing the same day he had met her. He was afraid at first; Kira had, without a doubt, found Naomi, and murdered her. Taro was afraid that Kira would come for him next, but he never did. Taro was thankful.

Taro wondered if he should just quit, give up, get out of this while he still had his life. He wanted to atone for causing this whole Kira mess to begin with, but he was beginning to think that he was in way over his head. Taro arrived at his school, and tried to forget about The Kira Case, but it still bothered him.

Taro walked to the entrance of the school, his mind still on Kira. "Taro!" He heard someone yell. "Taro, over here!' He turned around to see Sayu Yagami hurrying towards him.  
"Hey Sayu." Taro said. "I expected to see in class already."  
"I decided to wait for you." Sayu told him, a blush on her face.

"Thanks." Taro said monotonously; he was too focused on Kira to notice her blush. "We should hurry; we're late enough as it is." The two hurried for their class, not wanting to be late.

Taro and Sayu ate in the schoolyard, eating their lunch. Sayu ate an apple while Taro merely played with his food. Sayu looked at him with worry. "You should eat your food, not play with it."  
"Hmm?" Taro turned his head to his friend; he forgot she was there, and felt stupid for forgetting. "Sorry. My minds somewhere else right now."  
"Well where is it?" Sayu asked. "You've been in a funk for weeks now. What's the matter? You can tell me."

"It's..." Taro trailed off; he didn't want to risk Sayu getting involved with Kira and Shinigami, but he had to say something. "It's my mother." Taro said, using his mother's recent heart attack as an excuse. It felt a little wrong, but it was better than the truth. "She nearly died a few weeks ago, and she still acts as if it never happened."  
"You're Mom's not some old, defenseless lady, Taro." Sayu told him. "I've been to your house, remember? You're Mom's a tough lady." She then looked sad. "But I do understand what you mean; my Dad had a heart attack a few days ago, and I've been telling him to eat more healthy foods."  
"Poor guy." Taro joked. "I know how bad it is when you nag; must be torture for him."  
"Don't laugh." She laughed back, hitting him in the arm. "And I don't nag! And even if I am, I'm only doing it for his health." She stopped laughing. "He's leaving the hospital in a few days. After he catches Kira, I want him to be with us for a long time after."

Taro looked at Sayu immediately; why hadn't he thought of it earlier? He could tell Mr. Yagami! Surely the chief of the NPA would be in contact L! If not, then who would?

"I just hope it'll be soon; my Dad hasn't been home at all. I only see him so often now." She said with sorrow.

Taro then began to think of what he should do. Should he go today, tell Sayu's Dad everything? No. Sayu said that her Dad was rarely ever home now. Maybe give his information to Sayu? No, he couldn't do that either; Sayu might get curious and look at it, and he didn't want her to get involved. He wouldn't risk her life to catch Kira. Maybe...

"Taro."  
Snapping out of his thoughts, Taro looked at the now angry Sayu; she wasn't easily angered, and seeing her in such a state scared Taro a little. "What was that for?" He asked, though he felt it would've been better if he hadn't said anything.  
"Cause you're a jerk!" Sayu told him, grabbing her backpack and walking off in a fit. Taro could hear her mumbling something about littering and being an airhead.

_'What was that?'_ Taro thought, rubbing his reddened cheek. _'And why was she mumbling about littering?'_ Taro winced in pain; Sayu was a lot stronger than he thought. Taro tried to talk to Sayu for the rest of the day, apologize for whatever it was he did to incur her wrath. But she always avoided him, giving him the cold shoulder.

After school ended, Sayu left in a hurry to her home, leaving Taro to walk to his house alone. He didn't like Sayu walking home alone, but she was far too angry to be near him. He hoped she would get over it soon.

Taro arrived at his house to see his mother sweeping. "Mom!" Taro yelled. "Don't worry, I'll do that!" Taro grabbed the broom and began to sweep; ever since her heart attack, Taro's been doing the house work, to make his mother more relaxed.

"Taro." She said with an exasperated sigh. "I'm not an invalid! I can sweep the front just fine." She didn't like being thought of as handicapped, especially by her son. She liked to work around the house; it kept her busy and kept the house nice and tidy, the way a home should be.

"I know Mom." Taro told her. "I just want to do this for you. You're my mother."  
Taro's mother sighed; her son was a good person, and she knew it, but she didn't want him to take care of her; that was her job. "Okay." She said. "Finish up and you'll be done. Then come inside." She walked inside, leaving Taro to sweep.

After sweeping the front, Taro went to his room. He turned his television on to Sakura TV; he hated Sakura TV, especially the host, Hitoshi Demigawa, but Sakura TV thrived on The Kira Killings, and was a good source of information on Kira murders. Grabbing his safe box from under his bed, Taro opened it. He looked though his collection of items, looking for his flash-drive. He found it and picked it up. When he was about to close the safe box, he noticed an eraser. The Death Eraser. He picked it up and inspected it; he had forgotten about entirely.

Taro closed the safe and put it back under his bed. He then went to his desk, turning his computer on. He plugged the flashdrive in and typed his thoughts about telling Sayu's father, Chief Soichuro Yagami, everything about The Kira Case.

Taro worked for hours, trying to think of some way to get his information to Chief Yagami; he was afraid to just go to The Yagami Household for fear of Kira's finding them. Taro looked at his computer, thinking, when he heard a distorted voice, one similar to L, sound from his left.

Taro turned his chair to look at his television, and paled when he saw a white screen with four letters on it. _**'KIRA'**_. "No way." Taro muttered, terrified. "Why would Kira address people?"  
The voice on the screen spoke through a filter, masking the voice. "Turn to channel to Taito TV." The voice said. Taro changed the channel to see a man, who vehemently opposed The Kira Killings, and called him a monster for murdering so many people, dead. Taro noticed that the person was not like Kira at all; Kira would go after criminals and people directly opposed him, not people who voiced their opinions.

The voice said that if you were against Kira, then you should not voice your opinions, for fear of inspiring others to go up against Kira. As the broadcast went on, Taro began to think. Could Ryuk have dropped another Death Note? He did last time, so what was stopping him now?  
Taro switched the television back to Sakura TV. The voice told the viewers to switch to channel 24, but Taro did not; he didn't want to see another person die. "TARO!" Someone yelled from downstairs. It was his mother. "Come down here! Hurry!"

Taro ran for his mother, thinking the worst, but instead saw her in the living room, watching the news. It wasn't Sakura TV, but a different station. A reporter, some woman with glasses, was standing outside the Sakura TV Building, reporting on the events that just transpired.

Taro walked to his mother; she had a terrified look, and was shaking horribly. Taro looked at the television, and saw a man with short hair approach the building. He tried to open the door, but it wouldn't open. The man took out a gun, then collapsed to the ground.

"No way." Taro muttered. "He died." He didn't understand; how had Kira killed him? _'How did Kira do that?'_ Taro thought. _'Ryuk said you need a name and a face to use The Death Note! How could Kira have known that guy's name?'_ Taro watched as a pair of police officers appeared to help the man who collapsed. They soon died as well.

Not long after, a police van crashed into the building. "Oh thank god." Taro breathed. Taro heard his television upstairs go out. _'They must have stopped the broadcast!'_ Nothing more happened for a short while, until a small army of people, most likely police officers, appeared and blocked the front entrance from view. Everyone was clad head to toe in armor, and wore a tinted visor to hide their faces.

_'They must be hiding the person who drove into the building.'_ Taro thought. _'Thank god for whoever that was.'_

The television went black. Taro looked to see his mother holding the remote. "Why you shut it off?" Taro asked, though he already knew the answer.  
"I'm finished watching it." She answered. "I don't want you watching something like that."  
"But-" Taro started.  
"No buts!" She cut him off. "Now go upstairs and go to bed. You have school in the morning."  
"Alright." Taro said, deciding not to fight his mother on this. He headed upstairs.

Taro lay in his bed wondering about the Kira broadcast. He didn't believe for a moment that this 'Kira' was the real one. What worried Taro was the possibility of a second Death Note. What if other Shinigami had decided to give their Death Notes away? If so, then the world would become a very dangerous place to live.

As Taro began to fall asleep, he realized something. This new Kira sounded like they not only worshiped the real Kira, but was also _in love_ with Kira. "Great." Taro muttered, placing his arm over his eyes. "A Kira groupie."

* * *

**How was it? I like the end; "Great. A Kira groupie." I love it. Next chapter will have Taro coming up with a great idea, one that is more direct in opposing Kira and helping L. Remember to Read & Review please. **


	9. Response

**Chapter Eight: Repsonse**

Taro sat in his computer chair, rewatching the video of The Second Kira; everyone assumed that it was Kira himself, but Taro knew better. He had watched it several times in the three days since it's original airing, trying to think of something to do. He had finally come up with something, something that seemed like the best course of action. Perhaps the only course of action.

Taro went online to find out what he'd need to make a video; a microphone, a blank tape, and other things he could get at the local Radio Shack. He went to the store to buy the items he needed, spending most of the money he had saved up from his weekly allowance.

Taro listened to the video of The Second Kira on Youtube while roaming the internet, looking for voice filters; he had decided to send a message himself, to pose as Kira and get The Second Kira to expose themselves. He didn't know what he would say, but hoped that the words would come to him when he made he recorded the message. He wasn't sure it would work, but doing that was better than nothing.

Taro found several voice filters on the web, and settled on one that was similar to L's. He downloaded the software, then tried to find stylized english letters; he wanted to make the video spell out 'KIRA' with the same english style L used in his video. He finally found them.

Taro set up his new microphone, and began to make his recording. "Hello," Taro spoke into the microphone. "This is Kira. The true Kira." Taro played the recorded sentence back, checking to see if the voice filter worked.

Taro was happy to hear the filtered voice. He stopped the recording, and went to his bed. He wanted to write out a script for his message, make sure he said the right things; he couldn't reveal too much, for fear of Kira going on the run with The Notebook, but he had to say something that told L he was real. He began to write.

* * *

L slowly chewed on his marshmallows, putting one in his mouth at a time. He was once again watching the video surveillance footage from Raye Penber's death and Naomi Misora's last known appearance. The Boy had something to do with Kira, of that he was certain. It was just a matter of how.

Chief Yagami had brought the records of every school in the area of both of the train station and police station near where Naomi was last seen. He went through every single one of them, but saw nothing new.

"Ryuzaki." L looked to the door to find Chief Yagami standing at the door. "We're here. I've brought Light, like you've asked." L put another marshmallow in his mouth.

"Good," he said. "Light, I've brought you here to watch something." He shut the televisions with The Boy in the off; he didn't want Light to know about The Boy, not yet. "Come, sit down." He guided him to a television that contained a copy of The Second Kira's video.

"Alright." Light sat down. L picked up the remote for the television in front of Light and handed it to him. "Go ahead and turn it on."

Light pushed the button on the remote, turning the television on. The message from The Second Kira played on the screen. L watched Light as he watched it, looking for any suspicious change in his demeanor. After watching the video, Light stood up.

"What do you think Light?" his father asked. "Is it really from Kira?"

Light looked at his father. "I don't think so," Light said. "This message doesn't sound at all like the Kira we've been dealing with so far. Not only that, but the victims weren't criminals, merely people who voiced their opinion against Kira. I think that there's a second Kira out there, one more powerful than the original one."

"What makes you say that?" Matsuda asked. "What makes you think this Kira is even stronger?"

"Well," Light said, "this Kira was able to kill that detective. But how could he have known his name? I believe that this Kira is able to kill without knowing his victim's name, unlike the original, who needs both a name and face."

"That's exactly right Light," L told. "We also believe that there is a second Kira, and that he is even more powerful than the first one."

"Wait." Light looked at L. "Does this mean it was just another test? Which means you still think I'm Kira."

"No." L turned around. He walked to his table of sweets and ate a chocolate piece. He spoke with his mouth full. "And yes. You see, if we had told you right off the bat, then your conclusion would have been pointless." He swallowed . "However, since you came to the same conclusion by yourself, then it is far more likely that we are correct about their being a second Kira."

"Ryuzaki," Chief Yagami said, "does this mean you still suspect that Light is Kira?"

"Yes, I do. However, I shall remind you that the probability is only five percent."

L looked back to Light. He had debated over whether or not he should let Light watch the videos with The Mysterious Boy; he was positive that Light was Kira, and that Kira most likely knew about the boy. He then decided on what to do.

"Light, I would like you to watch another video."

Light looked surprised. "Another one?"

"Yes." L sat back down in his seat and pressed the button on his intercom. "Watari," he said, "I want you bring in the videos of Raye Penber and Miss Naomi Misora." He released the button.

"Right away, Ryuzaki."

A few minutes later, Watari came in with some videos. "Here you are, Ryuzaki." He handed the videos to L.

"Thank you, Watari." L put the videos in the televisions, and started the one with Penber. "Light, I'd like you to watch these videos. There's something very interesting I want you to see."

Light watched the video with his murder of Raye Penber. He had made it so that each and every agent of the F.B.I. would die in a way that seemed suspicious, to avoid L narrowing down the list of suspects, but he clearly didn't do it perfectly. He watched as Raye Penber pulled himself to the train, pointed at a figure. There was even a shadow there. Light's shadow.

What Light hadn't realized during the murder was a boy following Raye as well. He hadn't noticed him; he was too preoccupied with Penber to think of looking for anyone else following him, let alone a child.

"I can't believe it," Light said. "How did this kid know Penber?"

"He didn't," L said. "He just bumped into him and noticed something was off. But the next video will shock you even more."

Light watched the video from a convenience store camera. He thought that all the surveillance footage from that day would be taped over, deleted, gone for good. But he didn't expect an Obsessive Compulsive store owner hoarding every surveillance video his camera recorded. He watched the video, only barely seeing Naomi Misora, talking with someone. A boy.

_'IT'S THAT KID SHE MET!'_ he thought. _'I have to kill him as soon as possible! I was hoping he was just some stupid kid, that I could just ignore him! But I can't take that chance now!'_ Light saw the boy running away in the other direction not soon after. He seemed distressed.

Light looked at L. He had to remain calm, act as if he hadn't seen that boy. L didn't have proof that Light knew Naomi Misora, and he didn't want to alert to him that he knew her. "Ryuzaki, I didn't see anything. What exactly is on this tape?"

"I'm surprised you didn't notice," L said, though he highly doubted that. He grabbed the remote and rewound the tape. He played it a few seconds before the boy and Naomi Misora first showed up, then paused it once they were clear enough to make out. He pointed at them. "You can see that same boy from the subway when Penber died."

Light shook internally. "Ryuzaki, you can't tell that just from this. You didn't even get a look at his face from the subway cameras."

"Maybe not," L said, "however, the woman he is with was an F.B.I. agent by the name of Naomi Misora. I had the pleasure of working with her a few years ago, and she was a very competent investigator."

"And you think that the boy and the woman, this Naomi Misora, were working together?"

"Yes. However I find it much more likely that they just happened to bump into each other on the way to the police station in that area."

Light looked at the television. _'I have to find this kid and kill him!'_ he thought. Light then heard Ryuk break out in laughter. Light had to use everything in his power to hold back demanding Ryuk for an answer. For now, he focused on L.

"Light." Light looked back to L. "I want you to help us in finding this second Kira, and I think I have just the idea to do so."

"Ryuzaki, you have an idea?" Chief Yagami asked.

"Yes." He looked to the rest of the task force. "I believe that this second Kira worships the real Kira, and will do anything he says. So, I want to send a message of our own, from our own Kira."

"You want to send a message to stop the second Kira from killing," Light said. "That's brilliant Ryuzaki!"

"Yes." L turned to Light. "And Light, I would like for you to play the part of Kira."

"What? Me?"

"Yes. I can't think of anyone better than you to play Kira."

"Well ... alright."

"Good. And can you make a script for us to play on the evening news? I would like to send our message as soon as possible."

"Yeah, sure." Light sat back down and grabbed a pen and paper. "I'll get right on it."

* * *

Taro walked to the mail dropbox and dropped his item in. He used a dropbox far away from his house, to avoid being tracked down, though he doubted it would work. He hoped that his message would reach L, that he would get a chance to meet with him and reveal everything he knew about Kira and the Death Note.

Taro returned to his house and went up to his room. He turned the television onto the news; he watched only the news, never any of his old shows. He shot up when he saw three men sitting at a desk. "We interrupt this broadcast for a special announcement; Kira has sent out a message that he would like for us to show."

"Did they get my message already?" Taro asked aloud. "No, they couldn't've, I only dropped it off today."

"We would like to inform you all that we have the permission of the police to air this message. Now we will play the message."

Taro watched the television; a stylized 'KIRA' came onto the screen. "Greetings," the voice spoke. "I am Kira. The TRUE Kira. The one aired on Sakura TV several days ago was a fake, an impostor. I have chosen to be lenient with this imposter for now because I believe they wish to help in the creation of The New World."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Taro said. "This is not good. If they air my message with as well, that'll probably anger The Second Kira."

"However," the voice continued," I must express that the taking of innocent lives is against my will. If this second Kira wishes to truly help in the creation of The New World, then I must tell them to await orders from me."

The message ended, and Taro went to his computer. He didn't know what he could do, except for put this new information into his flash-drive.

* * *

L sat on his couch, looking over the student files from an elementary school. He wished that there was something he could do to narrow down the search, but nothing came to him. He was do entranced by his investigation, he let his ice-cream melt on the table.

The others had left after they watched their message, back to their homes and families.

"Ryuzaki." L looked behind him to see Watari, standing in the doorway with a file. He seemed tired. "I have found something interesting that I think is pertinent to The Kira Case."

"What is it Watari?" L asked. He read through the files as Watari talked.

"It came from one of the schools we got the files from."

"Is it The Boy?" L asked.

"No. It's something else. It seems that several students died of unexplained heart attacks, _before_ Kira began his killings."

L dropped the file he had in his hands. He jumped over the couch and grabbed the file from Watari's hands. "Really? Why was I not informed about this?"

"Because the children came back to life soon after."

"They what?" L began to shake. He was rarely ever afraid, and this Kira business was one of those rare time. But resurrection scared him even more. "How is that possible?"

"No one knows." Watari looked at L. "It seems that two detectives noticed this, and believed that something was wrong. They were both killed as well, after going to the school where the victims went."

"Which school?"

"Yatabi Elementary." Watari walked over to L. He flipped through the pages, then pointed at one particular sentence; it read 'Class 2-B'. "This was the class the victims went to."

"Where are these detectives now?"

"They died. As well as all of the previous victims. However, I did manage to find a journal kept by the lead detective. He wrote that the victims were all bullies, and that the killer was most likely a child they bullied."

"Watari, get me the files from this date from the school. That Boy must be one of the students from class 2-B."

"I believe you have them already." Watari walked to table where stacks of folders lay. He rummaged through them, looking for Yatabi Elementary. "Here we are." Watari pulled out a file. He handed it to L.

L opened the folder immediately. He looked at the names of the children in the class, hoping one would shoot out at him. He noticed two marks next to the deceased children's names, indicating their passing. L shrugged this off, until he noticed another mark next another child's name. "Miura Asahi," L read aloud. "There's a mark indicating his death, just like the other children. But there is only mark next to his name, not two. Watari, you said the children died, came back, then died again, correct?"

"Yes Ryuzaki." Watari was cleaning up L's melted ice-cream, amazed he had let it melt like that.

"That would explain there being two marks next to their name, but then why would there only be one mark next to this child's name?" L looked through the rest of the students, then stopped on another name. "Sayu Yagami? Light's sister?"

"Ryuzaki." L looked to see Watari on the computer. "I looked up this Miura Asahi in the school's database. It seems that his mother had complained several times for him being bullied. He died soon after the resurrections."

"How did he die?"

"Car accident was the official determination."

L read over the surviving students, though he focused mainly on Sayu Yagami. What were the chances that Light's sister, his prime suspect, was in the class of several students who died of mysterious heart attacks? "Watari, do not inform the others about this new development. We will only inform Chief Yagami about this, no one else."

"Understood Ryuzaki," Watari told him. "I will gather everything I can about the other students who were in this class."

"Thank you Watari." L could feel in his gut that The Boy was in this list of students, he had to be. He looked at the names of the boys; if Sayu was in this class, then it was a safe bet that The Boy was a friend of hers. "Watari, I also want you to find out which of students were friends with Sayu Yagami. More specifically, the boys."


	10. Date

**Chapter Nine: Date**

Light Yagami sat on his computer chair, contemplating The Boy. He wanted nothing more than to find him and kill him, but he didn't know where to start. The only thing he had to go on was the fact that The Boy ran off in a hurry after meeting Naomi Misora. Light could only guess that The Boy had some kind of emergency to attend to, though it would be impossible to find out just what that emergency would be.

Light knew Ryuk had something to do with this, but he also knew that the damn Shinigami would never tell him anything. If he wanted information, he would have to go about it in a different way. "Ryuk," Light said, spinning around to look at the Shinigami. "Why were you laughing before, in L's apartment?"

The Shinigami was eating one of his apples. "Because it was funny!" Ryuk spoke with his mouth full of crushed apple. "That same kid from before? What are the odds!"

"Do you happen to know anything about The Boy?" Light asked politely. He needed to find this kid, and fast.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't."

"I don't know why I bothered asking," Light said. He could try bribing the Shinigami with apples, something told him that wouldn't work. He then thought of something. "Ryuk, was I the first person you gave the Death Note to?"

Ryuk stopped laughing, though his smile stayed on his face. Light could see a glint in the death god's eyes, and he knew he got his answer. Light clenched his hands into fists, then released them. He thought of what this meant.

Light turned his chair around again to look at his computer. He turned it on, and began to type. If someone else had come across the Death Note, a child for instance, then there most likely would have been some kind of death. Light looked for instances in which people died of heart attacks, and found that several young students had died a month or so before Light had found the Death Note.

"Several students in an elementary school have mysteriously died," Light read aloud. "Medical experts have determined that the deaths are from natural causes, though many speculate that the children were killed by environmental causes."

"What a shame," Ryuk said, laughing.

"I remember this," Light said. "The children came back to life shortly after their dying. They then died again. How is that possible?" Light tried to find out in which school the incident occurred, but that information was never released.

"Don't ask me."

Light began to think. _'Could the Death Note have the ability to bring the dead back to life?'_ Light thought. _"But how is that even possible? Could I use the Death Note to kill someone, then bring them back to life?'_

Light took the Death Note out of his drawer and started writing. He tried to think of a way that could kill a person, then bring them back. "I think I know what to do," Light said to himself. "I'll have someone die from suffocation, then have someone else save them using CPR. After that, I'll have them die in a car accident."

"You sure that'll work?" Ryuk asked. He actually sounded like he didn't know if it would work.

"It might," Light replied. "The thing is that I'll have to be there in order to confirm it."

Light turned the television on, to look for a criminal he could experiment on.

* * *

Taro sat in the school library, helping Sayu study. School had already ended, but Sayu convinced Taro to stay behind to help her study. Taro wondered why she didn't just ask her brother, Light; he was probably the smartest person in the country, if not the world, and had tutored her many times in the past.

"Thanks for this Taro," Sayu said. "I _really_ need to get this stuff."

"I still don't understand why you didn't ask Light to help you," Taro said. "He's way smarter than I am. He could probably do a better job."

"I know." Sayu blushed. "But I wanted you to help me."

Taro looked at his watch. It was getting late, and he wanted to get home, so he could eat dinner. "We should probably go," he said. "It's almost five."

"It is?" Sayu asked. She looked at her watch as well. She slapped her face sarcastically. "Oh no! It's almost dinner time!"

"Yeah, so we should probably go." Taro stood up and started packing his books. Sayu packed her books as well. The two left the library.

As the two of them walked in the halls of the school, Sayu began to slowly drift closer to Taro, though the adolescent didn't notice. "So, where do you wanna go?" Sayu asked.

"Go?" Taro asked back. "Go where?"

"To eat silly." Sayu leant on Taro's arm and grabbed his hand. "I wanna treat you as a thanks for tutoring me." They neared the exit of the school.

"Oh." Taro blushed; he wasn't used to being this close to Sayu. "Uh, sure. Why not."

"Good!" Sayu ran for the exit, dragging Taro along with her. "I know the perfect place! It's near the arcade!"

"Whoa! Slow down!"

Taro and Sayu arrived at the cafe near the arcade about ten minutes after they left school. They sat down at a table outside the building. A waitress came to greet them. "Hello," she said, "I'm Mai Tokiha, and I'll be waiting on you today."

"Hi," Sayu said. "Could we get some menus please?"

"Of course." The waitress handed them two menus. "Just wave your hand when you two cuties are ready!" Taro blushed. He noticed Sayu smile at Mai's words.

After the waitress walked away to deal with other customers, Sayu opened her menu. "I heard they have great desserts here," she said. "What do you think we should get?"

"I dunno," Taro replied. He opened his menu. He wasn't really big on sweets; he enjoyed the occassional chocolate bar, but that was about it. But he didn't want to disappoint Sayu. "The chocolate cake looks good."

"Yeah." Sayu moved her chair closer to Taro. She looked at his menu, putting hers down on the table. "You wanna get that?"

"It's a lot money," Taro said. "I don't wanna-"

"No!" Sayu interrupted. "I'm buying two of them either way." She folded her arms.

"Alright." Taro blushed again. "Two cakes then."

Sayu waved for Mai, who came to their table. She ordered the cake, and the two waited for her come back. Taro's mind wandered as they waited. _'Is this a date?'_ Taro thought. _'How did this happen?'_

"Here comes Mai," Sayu said. Mai set the two plates on the table. "Thank you Mai."

"No problem." Mai went to leave, but stopped and turned around to look at them. "You two enjoy your date!" She walked off.

_'Date?!'_ Taro thought. _'I knew it! How did this happen?! What do I do?!'_

"Did you hear what she said?" Sayu asked. "She said we're on a date!"

"I-I-I heard," Taro stuttered. He had to steel himself for what he was about to ask. "Sayu; is this date?"

Sayu looked away. "If you want it to be," she finally said. "It's okay if you say no, I'll understand."

"No, no. That's fine." Taro looked at Sayu, then around the area, trying to think of what to say. "If you don't mind, I don't mind."

"Really?" Sayu asked. "I was hoping you'd say."

"Did you plan this whole thing? Asking me to tutor you, waiting in school until late?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Good plan." Taro began eating his cake. He ate it slowly, taking glances at Sayu every few seconds, too nervous to say much. "You were right. This is great cake."

Taro saw Mai handing an old man a box. The box had a picture of the same cake they were eating. _'Must be taking home for his grand kids.'_ The old man then made his way to a limousine, and got in.

Taro looked back to Sayu, when he felt himself being slightly pushed back. He felt Sayu's lips on his own. He blushed. Sayu leaned back into her chair, smiling at Taro. Taro was silent. "How was it?" Sayu asked.

"Uhhh." Taro tried to form words, but failed to do so. "It was-"

A chair falling to the floor near their table diverted Taro's attention. He looked behind him to see a man on the floor, clutching his throat. Taro ran to the man to help, though he didn't know how he could. He checked to see if the man was breathing, and saw that he wasn't. "Does anyone know CPR?!" Taro yelled out.

"I do!" Taro looked to see Mai Tokiha rushing toward them. "Stand back!" Taro stood, and watched as Mai breathed into the man's mouth, pushing into his chest every few seconds.

Taro felt Sayu next to him, holding his arm; she was scared for the man. The two watched until the man started coughing. He jerked up, coughing. He looked at Mai, then began to run. "Wait!" Mai yelled. "Why are you running?!" She chased after the man, running into the street.

Taro watched in horror as the man and Mai were hit by a passing car. He couldn't even turn his head, though he felt Sayu do so. "Come on," Taro said, pulling on Sayu. "We gotta go."

"But what about-"

"We can't do anything!" Taro interrupted. "Let's just get you home."

"Okay." The two walked off, heading Sayu's home.

* * *

Light watched the scene play out just as he hoped from across the street. Mai Tokiha, a twenty three year old woman arrested several times for prostitution, would witness a man, Yuuichi Tate, arrested, but never convicted for, several sexual assaults, fall to his death. Mai Tokiha would then perform CPR on Tate, reviving him. However, after his revival Tate runs, afraid of being identified by someone. Mai would then chase after him, trying to help. When in the street, they would both be hit by a car, killing them both.

_'It seems like my theory was correct,'_ Light thought to himself. _'An interesting feat of the Death Note. Quite entertaining actually.'_ Light thought of his sister being there. He wondered why she was there with that boy from school, but quickly put the pieces together. _'Seems like my little sister has a boyfriend.'_

Light began to walk home, and wondered how he should handle his sister's reaction; he didn't want her to see that, but he didn't know she was going to be there. But it didn't matter. He got what he wanted, and that's all he really cared about.

Light arrived home in time to see Taro and Sayu talking. "I'm going on ahead to your room, Light," Ryuk said. "See ya there!"

Light remembered Ryuk laughing when the car hit those two. The Shinigami was actually surprised by the Death Note's power, as was light. Light neared the pre-teens, and noticed his sister was crying. "I've never seen anything like that ever happen!" Light heard Sayu sob. "How does something like that happen?"

"I don't know," Taro said. "Just think about our next date, okay?" Light picked up on this. He wondered how this would pan out, and decided stop and listen.

"Second?" Sayu said. "You mean you wanna go out again?" She smiled.

"Yeah. And next time, I'll pay."

"Okay. Oh no, I forgot to pay for the cake!"

"Don't worry about that," Taro told her, rubbing her arm. "I think they'll understand."

Taro tilted his head to Sayu's, kissing her. He pulled away to look at her. "I'll see you tomorrow. I gotta get home, my mom's probably worried sick."

"Alright," Sayu said with a small smile. "See you tomorrow."

Light watched Taro as he left, looking back Sayu every few moments. Light waited for Sayu to enter the house, then followed her in. He went to the kitchen to grab some apples for Ryuk, then went upstairs to his room, and locked the door.

"Was that your sister's boyfriend?" Ryuk asked as soon as Light sat down.

"Apparently so." Light turned on his television set, and took out the Death Note. He waited for the names and faces of criminals to show up, and would write their names when he saw them.

"You're not mad?" Ryuk asked, taking a bite out of one of his apples. "What if that kid's trying to take advantage of your sister?"

"I doubt it. Sayu's known Taro since they were little, and if anything, she would be the instigator."

"Instigator?"

"It means that she'd be the one to start it. She's been trying to get his attention for months now, so I highly doubt he's a danger to anyone."

"Well, if you say so." The Shinigami laid on Light's bed and began eating an apple.

* * *

L sat in his new apartment, waiting for Chief Yagami to show up. L had Watari call Chief Yagami so he could talk to him about The Boy, but more importantly, about Sayu Yagami. The door opened, and L saw Watari come in. He had a box with him. "Is that the cake from that cafe?!" he asked excitedly. He had heard very good things about the chocolate cake in this cafe, and had asked Watari to get him a full box.

"Yes," Watari answered. "I asked for the freshest one they had, just like you requested."

"Thank you, Watari." L watched with a slight drool as Watari opened the box, took out the cake, and cut a large piece for L. He put the cake on a plate and stuck a fork in it. L immediately took a bite, and realized the rumors were spot on.

A little while after being given the cake, Chief Yagami came into the apartment. "Ryuzaki, I'm here," he said. Hat down across from L. "What is it you wanted to talk to me so urgently about?"

"Mister Yagami," L said, putting his almost finished cake on the table. "Watari found something very interesting yesterday." L picked up a file that was on the table at his side, and handed it Chief Yagami.

"What is this?" he asked. He looked over the file; it's contents were of a class of junior high school students. "Is this about The Boy?"

"Partly." L picked his cake up, and finished it. "First, I would like you to read the next page."

Chief Yagami flipped the page. He read the page over, and a shocked look replaced his previous one. "I remember this!" he said loudly. "Two of my detectives tried to get me to investigate this, but I thought it was a hoax!"

"I don't believe it was hoax. I believe that someone else had Kira's power before Kira himself. I also believe that this person was a child in the class of the victims."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because the victims were known for being bullies. I suspect that the original owner of Kira's power unintentionally killed these boys, and somehow reversed the effect."

Chief Yagami looked at L, as he finally realized something. "Ryuzaki, why aren't the others here?"

L grabbed another file. "Because of this." L handed him the file.

Chief Yagami opened it, and shock came across his face. "Sayu," he muttered. "That's right, Sayu was in the same class as those children. I remember she asked to stay home because she was afraid there was something in the school that made them die."

"Yes. I believe I don't have to tell you how odd it is that both of your children seem to have a connection to this case."

"You can't possibly think that Sayu has something to do with this! She's only thirteen for heaven's sake!"

"Children can kill too, Mister Yagami. I decided to inform you because she is daughter. I wish to keep this information to the three of us. Don't tell anyone, not even Light."

"You still suspect him?"

"Yes, I do." L stood up, and walked to the row of televisions. He picked up the remote for one of them, and turned it on. The phone began to ring; L saw Watari answer it. "Mister Yagami, the chances of your daughter knowing The Boy are very high. Can you get me the names of her friends?"

"I suppose I-"

"Ryuzaki!" L turned to Watari. "Two videos were delivered to Sakura TV; both say they are from Kira."

"Two?" L asked. _'Could the real Kira have sent a message of his own?'_, L thought. It didn't make sense for The Second Kira to send two different tapes. "Watari, get those tapes! And call the others, tell them to get here now!"

"Right away, Ryuzaki."

L and the rest of the task force sat in the apartment, about to watch the first video. Light was there as well. "Why would The Second Kira send two different messages?" Light asked.

"Could the second tape be from the real Kira?" Matsuda asked. "If so, he might reveal to The Second Kira that we lied to them!"

"If it is Kira, then we simply won't air the message," L told him. "No point in telling The Second Kira we lied to them.

"But what if Kira retaliates?" Aizawa asked.

"We'll have to take that risk. Now, Watari, play the first tape."

The first tape played. L watched it with extreme interest; it wasn't from The Second Kira, but from the 'real' Kira. The 'KIRA' displayed on the screen had the same style as L's. "I am Kira," the voice spoke. L noticed the voice filter was similar to his own. "I have sent this message to inform this impostor, this second Kira, to stop their killings. You are taking the lives of innocent people, though who do not go against me."

"Interesting," L said. "Seems THIS Kira wants to stop The Second Kira as well."

"I wish to say one more thing, though I wish only for L to view this last part."

"What?" Light said. "Only L?"

"Should we go, Ryuzaki?" Matsuda asked.

"Hmm." L paused the video; why would this Kira want him to see something alone? L didn't believe for one second that this message was from Kira. If anything, it was sent by someone who wanted to prevent The Second Kira from killing anyone else. "I'll watch it by myself. If I think it is relevant to The Kira Case, then I will allow you to watch it as well."

"Light," L said, "this message does not sound like Kira, or The Second Kira. Chances are, this person is just an impostor, who is trying to prevent The Second Kira from killing any more people."

"You mean someone's trying to prevent more death's?" Matsuda asked.

"Yes." L aimed the remote at the television, then looked back to the others. "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to view this last part by myself."

"Understood, Ryuzaki," Chief Yagami said. "We'll leave so you can watch it."

"But Dad!" Light argued.

"NO! We are leaving Light, right now." He headed for the door, as did the others. Light looked back to L. He made a face, then walked out with the others. L pushed the button on his intercom.

"Watari, I want you to take the others to a different room so I can watch the rest of this video in private."

"Understood," Watari replied through the intercom. "I'll inform you when they are in another room."

L waited until the intercom came on. "They are in another room. You may proceed, Ryuzaki."

"Thank you, Watari."

L turned back to the television and played it. It was silent for a few seconds until the voice came back on. "L, I hope you are alone."

"What do you want me to hear?" L said aloud.

"I realize that you may think I am an ordinary citizen, one who is opposing Kira. In order to make it clear that I _am_ Kira, I will tell you the name of one of the people that opposed my will, one that only Kira would know. The F.B.I. agent known as Naomi Misora.

L's eyes widened in shock. Only three people outside the task force knew about Naomi Misora; the one who called the tip in, Kira, and The Boy. _'This video is not from the real Kira. If Light is Kira, then he would never want this information known to me. Does this mean that The Boy has sent his own message to try and stop Kira?'_

"I am only telling you this in order to confirm my being Kira. Good-bye." The video went black, and L just stared at it. L bit his thumb nail. _'If this message IS from Kira, then why would he tell me about Naomi Misora? An why only me?'_ L got to his feet. Could The Boy be trying to contact L? If so, then that meant that Kira didn't find him yet, assuming he knew about him at all. _'This message MUST be from The Boy. It's the only thing that makes sense. The Boy must be afraid to come right out for fear of being killed by Kira.'_

L looked at the door. He wondered if he should show the others, but feared for The Boy's life; he was positive Light was Kira, and informing him of The Boy's existence was enough of a risk to the child. _'I can't show this to Light or the others. It's too dangerous. If Light IS Kira, then he may be able to use this to find The Boy; I've already given him enough information as it is.'_ L ejected the video and looked at it. He put the video back in it's case, and pressed the button to his intercom. "Watari," he said," please inform the others that they may come back in."

"Right away, Ryuzaki."

L waited for the others to return. While he was waiting, he grabbed a piece of cake from the box Watari had left on the table. He took a bite of the cake.

* * *

Light and the others walked in the hallway until Watari stopped them. "Ryuzaki wishes for me to take you to another room so he can have some privacy." Light and the others followed him.

As they were walking, Light spotted a bathroom door. He had an idea. "May I use the restroom real quick?" Light asked.

"Of course," Watari told him. "We'll wait here until you're done."

"Thank you." Light opened the door and went in. He looked under the stalls to make sure he was alone, and was glad that he was. He then looked in the mirror to see how he looked. He saw Ryuk behind, laughing.

"Mad you can't watch the movie, huh?" the Shinigami said. "I guess you're still a little too young to watch that kind of stuff." Ryuk laughed even harder.

"Ryuk," Light whispered. He didn't want the others overhearing him, and with the echoing effect of bathrooms, that possibility was increased drastically. "I want you to go and watch the video with L. Tell me what that fake Kira says."

"Nuh-uh," Ryuk said. "I told you before Light; I'm not helping you _or_ L. You'll just have to wait."

Light curled his hands into fists in anger. He wanted to yell at the damned Shinigami, but he had to maintain his composure. "I'll tell you what. I'll-" Light stopped talking when he heard the bathroom door beginning to open. He turned around to see Matsuda. _'Goddamnit Matsuda!'_ Light thought. Light internally breathed a deep breath.

"Hey Light," Matsuda said. "Figured I go too."

"I didn't have to go, I just wanted to take a look at myself," Light said. He straightened himself out.

Light looked at Ryuk as while Matsuda did his business. After Matsuda finished, he went next to Light by the sink, and started to wash his hands. "I've been drinking nothing but coffee for the past few weeks," Matsuda said. "Hell on the body."

"I prefer tea myself," Light said, looking at Ryuk's reflection; he was hoping the Shinigami would know that Light was bribing him with apples.

"Tea, huh?"

"It's calming. Coffee makes me too jittery anyway," Light said with a fake laugh. Light washed his hands, and left the bathroom as Matsuda smiled at the joke. Light looked to Ryuk, who seemed to not have taken the hint.

"Sorry, but no deal," Ryuk told him. "This is getting way to good!" Light scowled inwardly.

Light waited in another room with the others while L watched the message alone. He wanted to watch it as well, but he wasn't able to convince the others to challenge L. "What do is on the tape that Kira wants only L to hear, Chief?" Matsuda asked.

"I don't know." The Chief looked far off in his own world, too deep in thought to register much.

"What if he doesn't show us?" Light asked. "What if the information is important, and L doesn't share it with us?"

"You've gotta refer to him as Ryuzaki, Light," Mogi told him. "It's too dangerous to call him L."

"Whatever. But my point still stands; what if he doesn't share the information with us?"

Light's father looked at him. "Then we'll accept it. Ryuzaki hasn't steered us wrong yet, and if he doesn't tell us, then he will have a good reason not to. We have to trust him, Light. He's gotten us this far already."

Light turned around. "Fine," he said. "But I still don't like it." Light sat down on a couch, trying to cancel out the sound of Ryuk's laughter.

They waited in silence until Watari came back. "Ryuzaki has asked for you to return to his room. Please follow me." Light and the others followed the old man back to L's apartment.

Light entered the room after the others. He saw Ryuzaki holding the other video that was sent to them. "I'm sorry about that," L said. "But I wanted to be safe."

"Ryuzaki," Chief Yagami said, "are you going to show what's on the tape or not?"

"I have decided not to. I am aware you all may have reservations about this, but I feel this information is a little too sensitive." L put the second video in, and aimed the remote at the television to play it. Before he pushed the button, he looked at the others. "I also decided that we should not air this video. We have already released our own message from our invented Kira, and I wouldn't want The Second Kira to become aware of that."

"If you think that's the way we should go, then we'll follow your orders," Chief Yagami said. "Now can you please play the second message?"

"Of course." L played the video, and sat on chair.

Light watched the video with disgust. This idiot fell for L's trick, and said that they would obey their every order. "I don't think you have The Eyes," the voice said. "But don't worry; I would never do anything to harm you."

_'That idiot!'_ Light thought. _'What is he thinking, mentioning Shinigami Eyes in a public message like this!'_ Light was worried that this fool would reveal too much.

"I wish to meet you," the voice continued. "When we meet, we can confirm each other's identities by showing our Shinigami to each other."

"Shinigami?!" everyone said loudly.

_'He's a liability!'_ Light thought. _'If I don't do something about him soon!'_

"AAAAHHHHHHH!" Light looked at L; he threw his hands in the air, screaming very loudly. Light watched as the great detective fell off his chair and to the floor. L sat on the floor, staring at the television with great fear. "Sh-Sh-Shinigami? Am I really supposed to believe that-that Shinigami actually exist?"

"Don't be stupid!" Light told him. "Of course Shinigami don't exist!"

"He's right, Ryuzaki," Aizawa agreed. "Shinigami can't be real!"

"Maybe so," L replied. "But I remember Kira making those prisoner's write something suggesting the existence of Shinigami."

"Maybe the two Kira's have already met," Matsuda said, "and have already decided to use the word 'Shinigami' as a way to communicate with each other?"

"I don't think so," Light said. "If they already met, then The Second Kira would have no reason to send this message. I think that they are using the word 'Shinigami' as way to describe their killing power."

"I think you're right, Light," L said, standing up and picking up his chair. He put his chair back where it was, and hopped backed into his seat. "We'll air this message, as well as the journal entries we recieved."

"What do the entries say?" Matsuda asked.

L picked up the paper that was sent along with the message. He had already gone through it, and handed it to Matsuda.

Matsuda read over the paper. "It's obvious that the entry on the thirty-first is meant for Kira," Matsuda said, reading the paper. "'Confirmed our Shinigami at the stadium today'," he read aloud. He handed the paper to Chief Yagami.

"It's a little _too_ obvious, don't you think Matsuda?" L asked. "Obviously no one would go to the stadium that day, especially Kira. The stadium would be completely empty."

"I guess this Second Kira isn't that smart," Aizawa commented.

"Maybe. But maybe not." L stood and took the paper from Chief Yagami. He looked at it. "Maybe The Second Kira has sent a special code for the real Kira, one that only they can recognize."

"Ryuzaki, let me take a look," Light said. L handed the paper to him, and he read it over. He noticed the entry for the thirty-first; it was blatantly obvious it was for him. Light then looked at the entry for the twenty-eighth. _'Shared notebooks with my friend in Ao-Yama,'_ Light read in his mind. _'Maybe this guy is smarter than I gave him credit for.'_

Light looked at L. "We'll place extra security camera's in all the places the journal entry has on it. I want some of you to go to these places on the days specified as well. Chances are The Second Kira will be at one of these places."

"I'll go to Ao-Yama," Light volunteered. "I'll fit in better than everyone else seeing as I'm a teenager."

"I'll go too," Matsuda said. "I can fit in better than the rest of you, and I don't want Light going alone."

"Very well then." L sat back down. He took a forkful of his cake and held it in the air. "Here's hoping we find The Second Kira." He put the fork in his mouth.


	11. Questions

If I own Death Note, then I am the guy who owns Death Note. But I'm not the guy who owns Death Note, so therefore I don't own it.

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Questions**

Taro sat in his room watching the new message from The Second Kira. His message was never aired; he suspected that L was afraid that airing two different messages from people claiming to be Kira would anger The Second Kira. He didn't want the message aired anyway; he wanted L to know about Naomi Misora's death. If L was as good as he seemed, then he should be able to find Taro. That was why Taro asked for L to watch the message alone; should Kira have somehow gotten near L, then he would most likely find him too.

"I don't think you have the eyes," the voice said. "But you don't have to worry; I would never do anything to harm you."

_''The Eyes?''_ Taro thought. _'What does that mean?'_

Taro thought about what these eyes could be; a way to see Shinigami? No, all you had to do was touch a Death Note and you could see them. Taro quickly wrote down this new information, and returned to watching the message. Everything was basic; The Second Kira promised to obey everything Kira said, which Taro wasn't sure was good or bad. This would stop any killings by The Second Kira, but it also meant that the two of them would probably meet.

"We can confirm our identities by showing our Shinigami to each other." Taro looked at the television until the message ended. How dumb was this guy? He just mentioned Shinigami, the one thing L most likely didn't even think about.

"This guy's an idiot," Taro said to himself.

"We have also been told to show the viewers this paper by The Second KIra," one of the news anchors said. "We shall show you now."

An image of a what seemed like a journal entry appeared on the screen. Taro read it over, and saw the last entry. _'Confirmed Shinigami at the stadium today,'_ Taro read in his head. _"Maybe this guy's not as dumb as I thought. Mentioning the Shinigami would make most people focuson the stadium entry.'_ Taro reread the paper, until he saw another entry, one for the twenty-eight. _'Traded notebooks with a friend in Ao-Yama at noon. That probably means the Death Note. This guy's definitely smarter than I thought.'_

Taro wrote everything that was on the paper down. He went to his computer and searched for Ao-Yama. He wanted to find out how to get there, and what kind of reason he could have for going. He couldn't very well just go. Ao-Yama was too far away for him to walk, and the subway would be too hectic to take. While he was going through his computer, he noticed an event that was on for the twenty-eighth; Note-Blue.

"Note-Blue," Taro read aloud. "The Second Kira must be using this as a cover for going. Smart. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to insult them after all." Taro had his cover, but if he went alone he would certainly attract attention. He thought of his previous date with Sayu, and came up with an idea.

Taro took his cell phone out of his pocket and looked through his contacts. He scrolled down until he saw Sayu's name. _'I don't want our first, well second, date to be about catching Kira, but I don't have any other choice.'_ Taro pressed the call button, put his phone to his ear, and waited for Sayu to answer.

"Hello?" her voice came through. "Taro?"

"Hey Sayu," Taro said. "How you feeling?"

"About our date? I'm feeling better. I still can't believe that happened."

"Me either." Taro took a deep breath. "Listen, I was thinking, maybe we could try another date. Say, on the twenty-eighth at noon?"

"REALLY?" Taro winced and pulled the phone from his ear. She was very excited about this. "SURE! Where do you wanna go?"

"I was thinking Ao-Yama," Taro said, putting the pone back to his ear. His ear still hurt a little. "There's an event there that's happening called 'Note-Blue'. I figured we could go."

"Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, YES! But wait," she said. "I don't think my parents would want me going there."

"What, why?" Taro asked, though he had a good idea. of why.

"You didn't watch the news? It just aired; The Second Kira released a message, and Ao-Yama was mentioned."

"Oh." Taro tried to think of a way to get around this. "Well, uh, just don't tell them; it'll only worry them. And it's not Kira's do anything to two kids on a date.

"Well..." Sayu said. "Alright. It'll be so romantic; two lovers, meeting in a forbidden place!"

"Uh, yeah." _'Sayu always did love those romantic stories.'_ " Anyways, I figured I would ask my mom; she's bound to drive us if I tell her it's for a date with a girl."

"Your mom'll take us to Ao-Yama? What about the news?"

"Oh, she doesn't watch the news anymore; this whole Kira thing scares her, so she switches channels when anything about Kira comes on."

"Alright then! I'll see you then!"

"See you then Sayu." Taro hung up the phone and out it on his desk. He was a little nervous over his date/covert mission, and tried to think of what they could at Ao-Yama. Taro got on his floor and looked under his bed. He pulled out his safe-box and placed it on his bed. He opened it and grabbed his second wallet; he had been putting away money from his weekly allowance for the past few years, and decided that the money would best be used for his date.

Taro counted the money he had accumulated over the years; he had about four hundred dollars, which was more than enough for his date. Taro switched wallets, then left his room. He went to the living room, where his mother was reading a book. "Hey Mom?"

"Yes honey?" she replied, looking away from her book. "What is it?"

"Could you drive me somewhere on the twenty-eighth?"

"What? Where?"

"To Ao-Yama."

"Ao-Yama? Taro, that's a bit far, don't you think? Why Ao-Yama, anyway?"

"For a ... a date." Taro rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, blushing all the while.

"A date? You mean with a GIRL?" Taro's mother dropped her book and stood up.

"Yeah. I said I would take her to Ao-Yama for The Note-Blue. So can you drive us?" Taro's mother didn't like hearing about this Kira business after the first broadcast, so he didn't have to worry about her knowing.

"Oh, my Taro is growing up!" Taro's mother ran and hugged him hard. "Of course I'll drive you sweetie!"

"Thanks mom," Taro said, though he was muffled by his mother's body. "Can you let go of me now? It's getting hard to breath."

"Oh, of course, I'm so sorry." She released him, grabbed him by the shoulders, and looked at him with a smile. "So who's the lucky girl my baby boy is taking out?"

"It's Sayu Yagami," Taro told her. "She's in my class."

"Yagami? I know that name! Yagami is the name of the chief of the NPA! And you're dating his daughter? Oh, that's wonderful!" She clapped her hands together. "Wait. Isn't there a son, too? He's supposed to be the best and brightest in all of Japan!"

"Yeah," Taro told her. "That's Sayu's older brother, Light. He entered university a few months ago. Sayu told me he got perfect scores on every test. As did someone else."

"Oh, my son is dating one of the greatest families in all of Japan! I can't believe how lucky we are!"

"Thanks mom."

"What time do you need me to drive you?"

"Noon. I want to spend the entire day with her."

"Alright then, noon it is. I can't believe my son's going on his first date!"

Taro went back to his room to avoid his mother's hugs. He went to his computer and tried to turn it back on. It seemed that downloading that voice filter gave his computer a virus. "Mmmmnnnn." Taro tried to get rid of the virus, but couldn't figure how to do it. "Screw this; I'll just reformat it."

* * *

Light sat in his room looking at the computer monitor. On the twenty eighth was an event called 'The Note-Blue', and Light thought that The Second Kira was using this as a way to talk to him. "It seems that this Second Kira is smarter than I had originally thought," Light said.

"What do you mean?" Ryuk asked. He was sitting on Light's bed, contemplating the twenty eighth day of the month.

"There's an event called 'The Note-Blue' on the twenty-eighth. Note-Blue, Death Note. It has to be a message. There's no other explanation" Light stood up and sat on his bed. "All I have to do is watch the entrance for people entering 'The Note-Blue', and I'll find The Second Kira."

"Can't wait till then. Now, why don't you play some video games?"

"I can't, I have to study ." Light picked his school bag, and rifled through it. He took out one of his books.

Light studied intensely for the next hour, until he heard someone rapidly knocking at his door. "LIGHT! LIGHT! OPEN UP!" he heard a female voice say. It was his sister.

"Alright," Light said, "one second." Light stood and went to his door. He unlocked it and let his sister in; she seemed over-excited. She ran to his bed and jumped on it. Light saw Ryuk jump off the bed in surprise. "What's gotten into you?"

"I've got a date, Light!" she said happily. "He just called me and asked me out! Can you believe it?!"

"Another date? With Taro?"

"Yeah!" She stopped jumping-sitting and looked at Light. "What do you mean another? And how did you know it was Taro?"

"Oh." Light sat down next to her. "I saw you with Taro a few days ago at some cafe." Light laughed.

"You saw us?"

"Yeah. But I didn't want to interrupt your date, so I just left."

"How long were you there?"

"Just a few seconds. I had a date myself to get to, so I couldn't stay long."

"Oh. Well. Never mind." Light wondered what she was going to say, though he had a good idea. She probably wanted to talk about the 'accident' at the cafe.

"What's the matter, Sayu?" Light asked, putting a hand on his sister's shoulder. "You seem upset."

"Something happened at the cafe, something horrible."

"What happened?" Light asked, salse concern in his voice. "Did he do something to you?" He knew what happened, but he had to play the role of the protective, older brother.

"No, no! It's just ... after I kissed him, a man stopped breathing."

"That's horrible."

"It was. But the waitress we had, Mai, saved the guy's life using CPR. After he came back, he ran into the street. Mai ran after him, then..."

"Then what?" Light asked. He was glad his experiment had worked out so well, though he was saddened by his sister's witnessing it.

"A car hit them!" Sayu cried. She clenched onto her brother's shirt and cried into it. "It was horrible Light! That car just hit them out of nowhere!"

"Oh my God, Sayu. I'm so sorry you had to see something like that," Light told her softly. "No one should ever have to see that. Especially someone your age."

They sat in silence for a short while, until Sayu spoke up again. "Taro was so brave, though," she said. "He brought me home the second after it happened."

"I'll have to thank Taro next time I see him then. Listen Sayu." Light grabbed his sister by her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "What happened was just an accident, horrible as it may be. You're just gonna have to forget about it. Okay?"

Sayu sniffed. "Yeah." She hugged her big brother as hard as he could. "You're the best big brother in the world Light. I hope you know that."

"Well, I've gotta be. I've got you to compete with." Sayu laughed, as did Light. Sayu kissed Light on the cheek, stood, and walked to the door. Before she opened it, she turned to Light.

"Thanks again, Light." She opened the door and left Light's room.

"No problem," Light said after she left. Light rubbed where his sister kissed him. He felt strange. He shook off this feeling and returned to his desk. He began to study.

* * *

L sat in his apartment with the other members of the task force, going over what they were going to do during the days mentioned in The Second Kira's journal. L looked at Matsuda, who was going over with Aizawa as to where their surveillance cameras should be; they needed to double, if not triple, the amount of surveillance cameras in each place the journal mentioned. L had asked Matsuda to keep an eye on Light at all times while the two of them were at Ao-Yama; Matsuda still believed Light was innocent, but agreed to do so.

"Ryuzaki." L turned around to see Watari. He was holding a piece of cake on a plate. He handed the plate to L, then leaned in close to his ear. "Chief Yagami has the information you requested," he whispered. "He's just outside the door."

"Thank you, Watari," L said, holding the plate. L had asked the Chief to find out the names of his daughters closest friends, and it seemed he had come through. L stood up and began his walk to the door.

"Huh? Where are you going Ryuzaki?" L turned around at hearing Matsuda's voice.

"I'm off to investigate something," he said. "The rest of you stay here; Chief Yagami will come with me."

"What are you checking on?" Aizawa asked.

"Something involving The Boy," L told him. "I want the rest of you to keep working on the surveillance cameras. We'll be back soon."

"Alright," Matsuda said, waving his hand at L. "See you then!"

L went to the door and opened it. He saw Chief Yagami standing in the hallway, holding a folder. "Ryuzaki, I got what you asked for."

"Good. Follow me to another room; I don't want the others overhearing." L walked off ahead of Chief Yagami. Watari followed behind them.

"Of course."

L and Chief Yagami walked to one of the many apartments reserved for The Kira Task Force; L had previously paid for all of the apartments on the top three floors in order to both accommodate The Task Force, as well as to prevent other residents from overhearing anything.

L, Chief Yagami, and Watari entered the apartment and sat down on the couch. "Let me see your findings." L said, putting his hand out. The Chief handed him the folder, and L opened it up.

L looked through the contents; there was information on Sayu Yagami's closest friends, as well as school friends, kids she really only spoke to in school, as well as Sayu Yagami herself. "You're sure this is everyone?" L asked.

"Yes, Ryuzaki," Chief Yagami told him. The Chief removed his glasses and wiped them with a cloth; he was nervous, afraid that his daughter had something to do with Kira. His son was already a suspect, the prime suspect in fact, and he didn't know if he could handle his daughter also being involved. "I gathered as much as I could; I was able to get their school files, but that's about it."

"Your daughter is quite popular," L said, looking through the multitude of files. "How many files are there?"

"Eighteen. Six are girls, twelve are boys."

"She quite popular with the boys, isn't she?"

"Yes, though I don't like it," The Chief said. "But forget about that for now. How should we proceed, Ryuzaki? They are only children, and we can't have grown men following them around."

"No, we can't; people these days are very protective of children. If they saw someone following them, they would most likely call the police, or even attack them, fearing the worst. Personally, I wouldn't blame them."

"Then how do we investigate these kids?"

"Hmmm." L took a bite of the cake he had brought with him. He spoke with his mouth full. "I suppose we could place surveillance cameras in their houses, like we did before. But that didn't work out so well."

"Are you sure there's nothing else we can do, Ryuzaki?"

"Not that I can think of, no. But we'll put the camera's in anyway." He took another bite of cake and resumed talking, his mouth full. "I highly doubt thirteen year old children will be as intelligent as Kira; they shouldn't be able to find the cameras."

"Very well." The Chief put his glasses back on; he had been wiping them the entire time they'd been talking. He stood. "I'll have the cameras put in the same as before; no blind spots, even the bathroom." The Chief walked for the door.

L just nodded his head. He was thinking of The Boy's message; how did he filter the voice? He would have had to obtain the proper equipment in order to make his message. "Mister Yagami," L said, stopping the chief when he had his hand on the door knob. "When you install the cameras, I want you to look for some equipment."

"What kind of equipment?" The Chief asked.

"The message The Boy sent to us requires certain equipment. Most children won't have this equipment. If you find anything like that, concentrate them."

"I didn't think about that. Very well, I'll look for anything like that as well." The Chief opened the door, about to leave, when he stopped. "Ryuzaki," he said without turning around, "what will happen if Light is Kira."

L was about to eat another piece of cake when The Chief asked his question. The fork was inches from his mouth when he stopped. L closed his mouth and let the cake fall off the fork. "We'll serve justice," he said. "There's nothing else we can do."

Chief Yagami stayed silent , then left the room without another word. _'I can't even imagine how he must be feeling,'_ L thought. _'I wonder how Watari would feel if our roles were reversed.'_ L stood and walked to the door; he had to get back to the others. He left his cake on the table, leaving Watari to clean it up.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it. I accidentally posted this chapter as chapter nine a few days ago. But I fixed it. Please leave a Review.


	12. Meeting

_I do not own Death Note. I hope you all enjoy this chapter; it's my longest chapter yet. 8.558 words, not counting this and the ending Author's Note. I'm not gonna lie; I had some writer's block for a few days, but I finally got found a way around it. I could've blasted my way through it, but that seemed dangerous. Please remember to Read & Review!_

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Meeting**

Chief Soichuro Yagami opened the door to his home and entered. It had been days since he had last been home early, and he desperately wanted to spend some time with his family.

When he entered, he smelled food cooking. "Honey," he announced, "I'm home."

"Oh, Soichuro!" He saw his wife, Sachiko, look over from the kitchen area. "You haven't been home this early in weeks!"

"Yes, I'm sorry about that." He took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack. "My job has been quite a handful as of late."

"Well, I'm glad you're home. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes." She went back to cooking. "Why don't you go and check on the kids? I know Sayu's missed you a lot."

"Yes, I will. I've been meaning to catch up with them." Soichuro went to the staircase and began to walk up. He reached the top floor of his house and looked at the door to Light's room; could his son really Kira? He raised him to have a great sense of justice, and yet he was the main suspect in The Kira Investigation.

"Oh, Light," Soichuro muttered.

He walked passed Light's room to check on his daughter. He got to the door and stood there for a while. L already suspected his son of being Kira; could his own daughter have something to do with Kira as well?

He knocked on the door. He could hear Sayu's bed creaking as she got off of it. She opened the door, and she stared at her father. "DAD!" she yelled, hugging him as hard as she could. "It's been forever since you've been home this early!"

"I know, your mother said the same thing. Listen, I need to talk to you about something important."

"What is it, Dadsd?" Sayu asked.

"Let's talk in your room." Soichuro gestured for her to go in, and he followed her in. He looked around the room; he saw posters of boy bands and stuffed animals strewn about. He sat down on Sayu's bed and pat the spot next to him.

Sayu sat down next to her father. "What do you want to talk about, Dad?" she asked.

"Sayu, you're thirteen now, and I understand that you are becoming a woman."

"Dad, we don't have to have this talk!"

"Listen to me Sayu. I know yyou have a lot of friends, and I've noticed that several of them are boys."

"Oohh, this is soo embarrassing."

"Anyway," he continued, ignoring her groans, "I just want you to know that it's okay if you have a boyfriend. You are at that age where you want to start dating, and I just don't want you thinking that I'd disapprove if there's a boy that you liked."

"Thanks, Dad," she said, still embarrassed. "Why are you bringing this up anyway?"

"Like I said, I've noticed that you are quite popular with the boys, and I want you to know that it's okay if you like one of them back."

"Oh. Umm, thanks." They sat in silence until they heard Sachiko's voice.

"Everyone!" Soichuro heard her yell. "Dinner's ready."

"You heard your mother. Let's go eat."

Soichuro stood and went to the door, followed by Sayu. He was about to open the door when he felt Sayu's hand on his as he grabbed the door knob. "Dad, there is something I should tell you," she said. "I sorta do have a boyfriend."

Soichuro looked at his daughter. He figured as much. "Thank you for telling me," he said. "Do I by any chance know who this boy is?"

"His name is Taro," she said, blushing. "He's in my class. I actually have a date with on the twenty-eighth."

_'The twenty-eighth?'_ Soichuro thought. _'That's one of the days mentioned in The Second Kira's message.'_

"Is that so?" he asked. He needed to know where this date was; if it was at Ao-Yama, then this Taro must be The Boy that L is searching for. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, just the movies," she said, shrugging. "Not much else we can do."

He wanted to know more, but decided to leave it; he didn't want to press her for information. "Well, let's hurry to dinner. I haven't eaten your mother's cooking in a while."

"Alright." The two of them left Sayu's room and headed for the dinner table.

* * *

L sat in his new apartment looking over the files from the school. He knew that The Boy was a friend of Sayu Yagami's, he had to be. He read the file of another boy, one named Reito Kanzaki. He was the smartest student in the class, never getting less than a ninety on all of his tests. He was also seated next to Sayu Yagami. However, whenever he had to do a project in pairs, he always chose to pair with another girl, one named Nao Yuuki.

L put the file down on his pile, and picked up the next one. It had the name Taro Kagami on it. He opened the file and began reading it's contents. Taro Kagami was an average student, usually getting a C as his highest grade. He wasn't anything special. As L read the file, he noticed something peculiar; Taro Kagami's grades went from average C's and D's, to spectacular A's and B's in a few months. He wouldn't have found this too odd if it weren't for the timing of his increase in grades; his grades shot up during The Kira Killings.

_'Most students don't make this kind of advancement unless something happens to cause it,'_ he thought. He looked through the file more, and noticed that his mother had complained several times about him being bullied by the same students who bullied Miura Asahi. _'Taro Kagami,'_ L thought. _'Are you The Boy I'm looking for?"_ L put the folder down and decided to look through the rest of the files.

L sat eating a bowl of ice-cream, waiting for the others to arrive. He had decided to inform the others about his suspicion of Sayu Yagami's involvement in The Kira Case, whether she was aware of it or not. He decided to keep Light out of the loop, as he was the main suspect.

"Ryuzaki." L turned his head to look at Watari, who held a cell phone to his ear. "The others have arrived. Light Yagami is not present, like you requested. They will be up shortly."

"Thank you, Watari," L said. He went back to looking through the rest of the files, waiting for the others to show up.

L looked behind him when he heard the door open. He saw Chief Yagami, followed by the rest of the task force. "Ryuzaki," Chief Yagami said, "we're here. What is it you wanted to talk about so urgently?"

"I'm glad you're all here." L stood up and grabbed the files that were on the desk in front of him. "Chief Yagami and I have been following a lead on The Boy, and I feel it is time we shared it with all of you."

"A lead involving The Boy?" Aizawa repeated. "Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?"  
"Yeah Ryuzaki," Matsuda said. "We're supposed to be working on this together."  
"I am aware of that," L replied. "However, ths information was quite sensitive, and I felt that only Chief Yagami should be informed, considering what this information is."

The task force looked at L, then at their chief. They wondered what kind of information could be connected their chief; his only son was already their prime suspect, what else could there be?

The Chief looked at his team. "L found something that indicates my daughter in The Kira Case."

"What?" they all said at once.

"You mean Sayu?" Matsuda asked. "But she's just a kid!"

"Kids can kill as well, Matsuda," The Chief told him. "I don't like it, but if Ryuzaki believes my children are suspects, then we must follow through."

"Actually, I don't think Sayu has anything to do with Kira." L picked up a shishkebab with several candies and sweets pierced through it. He took off the top sweet, a large marshmallow, an put it in his mouth. "I've gone over her file the most out of the students from the class, and I came to the conclusion that she is not involved, at least directly."

The Chief looked at him with wide eyes. "You're saying my daughter's not involved?"

"Exactly. However, I still think she knows The Boy."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Aizawa asked. "What class? Have you narrowed down the search?"

"Yes, we have." L picked up a file in a red folder. He handed it to Aizawa. "Look through this and you'll see what I mean."

Aizawa took and the file and opened it. He read it quickly, while the others surrounded him, trying to read over his shoulders. Aizawa's eyes widened. "Several unexplained deaths occurred at an elementary school," he read aloud. "The victims were all children in the same class, and appear to have died from severe heart attacks. Officials believe the children were exposed to an environmental toxin that caused the heart attacks, though there is no indication of this."

"What?" Matsude asked. He grabbed the file from Aizawa, who was too stunned to react. Matsuda quickly read the file as well. "It says here that the children died then came back! I remember this! I thought it was a prank!"

"I remember that as well," Mogi said, taking the file from Matsuda. "That was a few months before Kira started killing people. The children came back to life, making everyone think it was just a prank."

"You think they were resurrected?" Matsuda asked. "How is that possible? I mean, killing from knowing a person's name and face is one thing, even just by seeing their face, but bringing the dead back to life? I mean, I don't know."

"Ryuzaki believes that a child, The Boy were looking for, had come across Kira's power before Kira himself," The Chief explained. "We believe The Boy somehow lost his power, or gave it up, and it somehow it got to Kira."

"Precisely," L said. "The children who died often got trouble for bullying other students, and I believe that The Boy was a victim of these children."  
"So he killed them?" Matsuda asked. "That's kind of extreme, don't you think?"

"I don't think he did it intentionally," L told him, his mouth full of sweets from his shishkebab. "As you know, the children were soon resurrected somehow, and I think The Boy is the one who brought them back."

"Do you think Kira has this power as well, Ryuzaki?" Aizawa asked. "I mean, we've never seen anything like happening."

"I don't think so. If he did, he wouldn't use it; Kira only wishes to kill people, not save them. If he had that power, then he could use it to bring back the people who have fought him back, but he hasn't. Saying that, I don't believe he has this resurrection power."

"My daughter, Sayu, was in the same class as the children who died," Chief Yagami told the others. "That's why Ryuzaki wanted to know about daughter's closest friends." He turned to L. "Ryuzaki, I forgot to tell you; I talked to my daughter, to see if she has any close friends, or even a boyfriend."

L looked at him. "Does she have a boyfriend?"

"Yes. She said his name was Taro."

"Taro? Taro Kagami?"

"I don't know," The Chief said. "I didn't get a last name."

L looked back at the files on his desk and walked over to them. He looked through them and found the one he was looking for. "I was just reading about a student named Taro Kagami. His mother had complained to the school several times for his being bullied." He held the file out to The Chief.

"What?" The Chief walked over and took the file. He read through it. "Yes, now I remember him. Sayu went to him for tutoring."

"Yes, I saw his grades. That's another thing I would like to point out." He looked at the rest of the task force. "Taro Kagami is a fantastic student, getting nothing but A's and the occasional B."

"What does that prove?" Matsuda asked.

"Mister Yagami, please hand the file to Matsuda."

"Alright." The Chief handed Matsuda the file. "Take a look at his grades."

"Okay." Matsuda looked through the file, looking mainly at his grades. The only thing he noticed about the grades was the improvement of them. Matsuda was about to ask what it was he looking for when he noticed the time they started improving. "His grades started improving when Kira began killing!"

"Yes." L walked to his couch and sat down. "Taro Kagami is most likely The Boy from the video tapes."

"Ryuzaki, what is the probability of this?" The Chief asked.

"I'd say about eighty percent. Maybe eighty-five."

"Then out of all the students, we'll focus him the most."

"Mister Yagami, did you set up those surveillance camera's?" L asked.

"No, I never got a chance to have them installed. The house's were never empty, so I couldn't have them installed."

"Hmm. Oh well, it doesn't matter. I would like to focus all our efforts on Taro Kagami, so installing all those cameras would have been a waste of resources."

"How should we investigate him?" Matsuda asked. "We can't exactly follow him around; people would notice grown men following a little boy, and would probably call the police."

"Or outright attack us," Aizawa said.

"Yes, Chief Yagami and I came to the same conclusion. I'm having trouble coming up with a solution to that. Mister Yagami, you said that all the houses were never empty?"

"Yes. It was usually the mothers who stayed home, to take care of the houses while the children went to school and the husbands went to work."

"Maybe we can draw Mrs. Kagami out of the house while her son and husband are away? Search the place for anything relating to Kira?" Matsuda suggested.

"There is no husband," L told him. "Taro Kagami's file says his father passed away some years ago. But that does sound like a good idea."

"Wait," Mogi said, "if there's no husband, then where does she get her money from?"

"I don't know," L said, surprised he hadn't thought of that. "Watari, please look into that." He looked at Watari, who was on a computer.

"Right away, Ryuzaki," he replied. He began typing.

"As Watari is looking for the answer to our question, I should tell you all that we are _not_ informing Light Yagami about this new development."

"You mean still suspect him?" Matsuda asked.

"Yes, I do. Everything we've found points to Light. Even his sister seems to be involved, as well as her boyfriend. That's reminds me." L turned to Chief Yagami. "Mister Yagami, do you by any chance know if they are having another date? If so, I would like for you follow them; no one would blame a father for wanting to follow his daughter on a date with a boy."

"Yes, I do. My daughter told me that she has a date with him on the twenty-eighth."

"One of the days mentioned in The Second Kira's journal entry," L said. "Your son volunteered for that day, didn't he?"

The Chief sighed. "Yes, he did."

L looked at Matsuda. "Matsuda, I want you to keep an eye out for Sayu Yagami. If you see her, you must keep Light away from her at all costs. As I said before, I don't want him knowing anything about this new development."

"Alright," Matsuda said. "If you say so."

"Good."

"Ryuzaki." L and the others turned to look at Watari. "I've found more information on Taro Kagami's family."

"What is it?"

"Mrs. Kagami filed a lawsuit several years ago after her husband's death. He was killed after a building he was working in collapsed due to not being up to code on it's inspection. It says here that he actually died saving another worker."

"That's a shame. How much did she get?"

"1.2 million to be paid over ten years. It seems that Mrs. Kagami had a nervous breakdown after her husband's death, leading to her being unable to work."  
L thought about this, then remembered something important; The Boy who was with Naomi Misora ran off in a hurry. "Watari, did anything happen to The Kagami's on the day Naomi Misora was last seen."

"Let me see." Watari read through the contents, and saw a hospital bill. "Yes, something did happen. Mrs. Kagami suffered a minor heart attack on the day Miss Misora was last seen."

"Then that confirms it," Aizawa said. "Taro Kagami is The Boy from the surveillance tapes."

"Yes, it does seem that way."

"Should we approach him?" Matsuda asked.

"No, not yet. There is still the chance that Taro Kagami is not The Boy, and that this is all a coincidence, though I highly doubt that. We'll wait until the end of the month, on the thirty-first; if Taro Kagami is at Ao-Yama on the twenty-eighth, then it will all but confirm it."

"But what if Kira finds him at Ao-Yama?" Mogi asked. "Kira would probably be counting on The Boy being there."

"Yes, he would. Matsuda." L looked at the young detective. "If you see Taro Kagami at Ao-Yama, keep Light away from him at all costs."

"Yeah, sure."

"Then all we have to do is wait," L said. He brought his shishkebab up to his mouth and brought the next sweet into his mouth; a chocolate munchkin with white swirls.

* * *

Taro checked himself in his bathroom mirror, wanting to look nice for his date with Sayu. His mother nagged him about looking his best for this date, and it really annoyed him. "A date and a covert op," he said to his reflection. "This should be fun."

He walked out of the bathroom and went to his room. He grabbed his wallet off his dresser and put it in his pocket; he didn't want Sayu paying for their date. "I wonder how much a date costs," he said to himself.

"It depends on the girl." Taro turned around to see his smiling mother at his door, car keys in hand. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I just needed my wallet." Taro showed her his wallet. "Don't want her paying for a date I asked her to," he laughed.

"No, you don't. That would be in poor taste. C'mon, you don't want to be late."

"Yeah, let's go." Taro grabbed his coat and followed his mother to the car.

Taro and his mother neared The Yagami household. "I can't wait to see what she looks like," Taro's mother said. "You never told me what she looks like."

"You'll find out in a few minutes," he told her. The car stopped in front of the house, and Taro got out of the car. He bent down to look through the open door. "I'm gonna go get her. Please don't do anything to embarrass me."

"Oh, honey, I won't embarrass you!" She smiled.

Taro closed the door and headed for the house. "I hope not," he muttered. He reached the door and knocked on it. Taro paled a bit when he saw Sayu's father answer the door. He gulped. "Hi Mister Yagami," he said nervously. "I-I'm for Sayu. H-here for Sayu. We have a date?"

"Yes, she told me. You're name is Taro Kagami, yes?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright then." He turned around, and Taro saw Sayu's mother, Sachiko, about to go up the stairs. "Sachiko, please tell Sayu her date is here."

"Of course." Taro saw her walk up the stairs to get Sayu, and waited with Sayu's father.

"So, where are you taking my daughter?" he asked.

"Oh, uh, just to the movies. And something to eat after."

"And just how are you going to get there?" he asked.

"Uh, m-my mom's gonna drive us," Taro told him. He was a little afraid of him. "I wouldn't make Sayu walk all the way to the movies!"

"Hmm." They stood in silence for a short while, waiting for Sayu.

"Taro!" Taro heard from behind the large man. "You're here already!" Taro saw Sayu come up from behind her father. She was beautiful.

_'Whoa,'_ Taro thought. "Sayu, you look .. wow," Taro said. He couldn't find the right words to describe his date.

Sayu blushed and giggled. "Thank you," she said. She turned to her dad. "Dad, we're gonna go now." She jumped up and kissed him on the cheek. She grabbed Taro's arm and began running for Taro's mother's car. "Bye!" she yelled, waving her hand.

Taro and Sayu got into the back seat of the car. Taro's mother looked at the two of them. "Oh, Taro, she's so beautiful!" she said.

"Mom!" Taro groaned.

Sayu laughed, blushing once again. "Thank you Mrs. Kagami."

"You shouldn't thank me; it's the truth. You look absolutely beautiful." She turned to look at the road once more, leaving the two pre-teens to their own devices.

They drove in silence until they arrived at Ao-Yama. Taro wanted to talk to Sayu on the way there, but he didn't want his mom embarrassing him. The two of them got out of the car and looked at Taro's mother. "I'll be back at about five, okay? You two have fun on your date!"

"We will Mrs. Kagami," Sayu told her enthusiastically. "I'll take good care of your son!"

"Thank you very much Sayu. Bye!" She droved off, leaving the two to their date.

Taro turned to Sayu. "So, uh, what do you want to do first?" he asked. He had three hours to kill until The Second Kira's scheduled appearance, and he wanted to spend that time with Sayu.

"I was thinking we could get something to eat first," she said. "I haven't eaten breakfast yet."

"Oh, yeah. I haven't either," Taro said. He looked around for a place to get something to eat, and saw a small diner. "We can go there," he said, pointing at the diner.

"Yeah, okay." Sayu grabbed Taro's hand and began running to the diner, dragging Taro behind her.

The two arrived at the diner and sat down at a table, sitting side by side. Taro grabbed a menu from a small rack and opened it so the two of them could see the food the diner prepared. "What do you want?" Taro asked. He wasn't sure what Sayu would like for breakfast. An omelet? Cereal? Eggs and bacon?

"I don't know," Sayu said. She scanned the menu, then perked up and pointed at something on the menu. "How about this?" she asked. "We can share it!"

Taro looked at the item she pointed at; it was home fries. Taro had never eaten home fries, and wondered if they would taste good. "Yeah, sure. I love home fries," he lied. He felt funny for lying about such a small thing, but he figured it wasn't entirely a lie if it turned out that he liked them. Besides, he liked french fried; maybe these were similar.

"Oh, yum,' Sayu said.

"Are you two ready to order?" Taro looked to see a man, a waiter, standing by the table; he hadn't noticed him. The waiter had brown skin, and spoke with an accent that told Taro their language wasn't the one he was used to speaking.

_'How long was he standing there?'_ Taro thought to himself.

"Yeah, we're ready," Sayu told him. "We would like one order of home fries, please." She handed the menu to the waiter.

"Very good, little madam." The waiter took the menu and walked off. Taro noticed he walked with little, to no, noise, as if he wasn't wearing shoes.

"Did you notice him standing there when we arrived?" Taro asked Sayu. "Cause I didn't even notice him."

"Yeah, me neither. And the way he walked off. Very..."

"Soft," Taro finished.

"Yeah."

The two talked about the quiet walking waiter, wondering what nationality he was. Taro guessed Spanish, while Sayu said Peruvian. While the two were talking, Taro all of a sudden felt the wind shift. He looked at the table and saw a plate of food. He looked up and saw the waiter. _'How'd he do that?'_ Taro thought. _'I didn't even hear him.'_

"Your food. When you are done, please just signal for me." The waiter then walked off again, just as silent as before.

"How'd he do that?" Taro asked, though it wasn't directed at anyone.

"I don't know, but it sure was cool," Sayu laughed. "Let's eat." Taro saw Sayu take a fork off the plate and break off a piece of the food in front of them.

"How is it?" Taro asked.

"Mmm, it's good," Sayu said with food in her mouth. She stabbed the fork into the food again, and brought the piece to Taro's mouth. "Here, try it."

Taro opened his mouth to let Sayu feed him. It was a little embarrassing, his date feeding him like this, but he didn't want to say that. He felt Sayu's left hand on his chin as she brought the fork to his mouth.

Taro chewed the food, trying to figure out if he like it. He found the taste to be good, though he would have preferred bacon and eggs. "It's good," he said.  
"I know."

The two of them sat there eating the home fries. Sayu would feed Taro from time to time, and Taro would return the favor; he figured she wanted everyone to know that they were together, and that he was hers.

After the two finished eating, Taro signaled for the waiter, only to see him already there. _'That's just creepy,'_ Taro thought.

"I see that you're done," the waiter said.

"Yeah," Taro said. "Here's the money." He took out his wallet and took out a twenty.

"Thank you very much, young sir." The waiter took the money and handed Taro back his change. Taro gave the man a four dollar tip; he didn't know how much he was supposed to leave, but he figured five would be too much.

"Let's get going Sayu," Taro said, grabbing Sayu's hand. The two of them left, leaving the waiter to pick up his tip.

Taro and Sayu sat on a bench in Ao-Yama drinking from two bottles of soda. They hadn't gotten anything to drink from the diner, and decided to get some drinks.

Taro looked at his watch, to see what time it was; 10:33. The Second Kira was supposed to be at Ao-Yama at noon, which meant Taro still a couple hours to go, assuming The Second Kira would be there for a couple hours.

"What do you want to do next?" Sayu asked. "I was thinking we could go see a movie."

"A movie sounds good," Taro said without looking up from his watch. "But when do they start?"

"I don't know. What time is it?"

"Half passed ten," Taro told her.

"Hold on a sec.." Taro saw Sayu stand from the bench and go into a convenience store. He then saw her coming out, a newspaper in hand. She walked back to Taro and opened the paper, looking for the times when movies started. "Here's a movie," Sayu said, pointing at the paper.

"'The Chronicles of Narnia'," Taro read aloud. "Sure. I've seen the trailers; looks interesting."

"Yeah, me too. It starts at 11:15, so we won't have to wait long."

"Yeah." Taro looked around for a movie theatre. He saw it, and pointed at the building. "It's over there."

"Okay, let's go." Sayu ran, once again dragging Taro behind. Taro was sure his arm would pop out of it's socket if Sayu kept doing that.

The two made it to the movie theatre, and Taro bought two tickets for 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe'. The two of them got on the line for snacks; Taro hated buying snacks at movie theatres; everything was overpriced.

Sayu insisted on paying for the popcorn and sodas, seeing as Taro paid for everything else so far. Taro wondered what happened to the bottles of soda they had earlier, then remembered they had put them down when they read the paper, leaving them on the bench.

The two of them entered the room where the movie was to be shown; the trailers for other upcoming movies were still being showed on the big screen. Sayu guided Taro to a pair of seats against the wall. He couldn't see the screen very well.

"Great seats, huh?" Sayu asked in a strange voice. Taro wanted to disagree, but was afraid of upsetting Sayu.

"Yeah. Nice and private so we can-" Taro stopped talking. He realized why Sayu had chosen these seats.

"Can what?" Sayu asked innocently.

"Uhhh." Taro was trying to find the right words. "Uhh." He didn't find them.

"I'll answer the question." Taro watched as Sayu came closer. "'This.'"

Taro felt Sayu's lips on his own, and he could feel his face redden; he still wasn't used to this. He then felt something wet and slimy pushing on his lips, and he opened them instinctively. He then felt it in his mouth, massaging his tongue. He realized it was Sayu's tongue.

Taro followed Sayu's lead, extending his tongue into her mouth. He didn't think Sayu was this provactive. He always thought making out was kind of disgusting; spit mingling with spit didn't sound very nice to him. But he found he was wrong. Pleasantly so.

Sayu leaned back from Taro. He looked at her. She was holding her lips, blushing and giggling. "Did you like it?"

"Uhhhh." Taro once again couldn't find the words he needed. "Not what I expected?"

"I figured you wouldn't, so I thought I would start," Sayu said. "You're kinda clueless to this kind of stuff, aren't you?"

"I guess?" Taro rubbed the back of his head. He wondered if they were even going to watch the movie.

"Well, let's watch the movie," Sayu said, looking at the screen. Taro looked to see the movie had started. It seemed they were going to watch it.

_'How long were we making out?'_ he asked himself. _'Wierd.'_

Taro and Sayu watched the movie, occasionally eating some popcorn. Taro wondered if Sayu would go for another make out session with him; he liked it a lot, but didn't want to prevent her from watching the movie. Taro looked at his watch to see the time, and felt his gut tighten when he saw the time; it was 12:48. The Second Kira was supposed to have shown up almost an hour ago.

Taro stood on reflex, then looked down at Sayu. She looked confused. Taro tried to think. "I've gotta use the bathroom," he said. He grabbed his stomach to feign stomach pains. "Now."

"Alright, just-" He didn't let Sayu finish her sentence, running for the door as quickly as he could. He wanted to make it seem as he was really in pain; he might be gone for a while, and he didn't want her thinking he ditched her.

Taro ran around Ao-Yama, looking for The Note Blue. He saw the building and walked towards it, trying to act nonchalant. He went to the door and opened it, looking around for anyone or anything suspicious.

* * *

Misa Amane looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror of The Note Blue. She played with her black 'hair', making it look as good as she could. She saw a piece of blonde hair stick out from underneath, and she tried to put it back under the wig. Unable to do so, she pulled the hair out of her skull.

She found that her glasses were bit askew, and she decided to fix them. She may be in disguise, but that didn't mean should still couldn't look her best.

She left the bathroom and looked at the clock on the wall; it was 12:12, and that Kira should be there soon. She sat back down at her seat. Misa loved Kira more than anything; that was why she began her killings. She was so happy when he replied to her message.

"Misa, are you sure Kira will come?" Misa heard. It was Rem. Rem was a Shinigami, the one who gave her her Death Note in the first place.

"I'm sure of it," Misa whispered. "I can feel it."

"Remember Misa, you must be careful; there's no telling if Kira will try and kill you."

"You don't have to worry, Rem. Kira's out for justice, not for blood. And besides, he won't know my name. But I'll know his thanks to The Shinigami Eyes!" Misa looked around to make sure she didn't attract any attention; she would be only one to hear Rem when she talked, but Misa didn't have the same luxury.

"Remember Misa, all you need to do is find him, and you'll know who he is. The Shinigami Eyes will tell you Kira's real name the moment you see his face, but will not show his life-span, so it will be easy to find him."

"I remember." She went back to looking out the large window of The Note Blue. She was positive Kira would show up. He had to.

Several minutes passed, and Misa still couldn't find him. At 12:28, a large group of people passed by. She looked at there names, looking for one without a life-span; but she found all them. She looked at the boy in front; Light Yagami. _'Wow, he's cute,"_ Misa thought. _'Too bad I'm here in diguise."_

She looked at the window after the group passed them, then heard Rem shuffling. "Misa, did you not find him?" Rem asked.

"No, not yet," she told her, speaking a little louder than she intended. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Maybe I should walk around, see if I can find him?"

"No, you stay here. I'll will go outside, see if I can find Ryuk."

"Oh, really?" She kept her whispering voice. "Thank you, Rem!"

"You're welcome, Misa." Misa heard Rem's wings begin to spread out. "Just wait here; I'll be back soon."

The pop star looked on as Rem left to go look for Kira, or rather, Ryuk.

Misa waited for Kira to show up, but found that everyone's life-span's were visible. She began to feel disappointed when she heard the door to The Note Blue open. She looked to see who is it was, and saw a young boy, maybe twelve or thirteen. Her eyes widened when she saw his name; Taro Kagami. And right below his name was nothing; the boy had no numbers above his head, no life-span of his own. Could this little boy be Kira?

"No way," Misa muttered. She wasn't sure of what to do; her plan was to go to Ao-Yama, find out Kira's name, then look him up on the internet. But how could she do that with a child? "Is he-?"

Misa sat in her place, waiting for Rem to come back. She didn't think Kira would be so young. And so cute. She had planned on asking Kira if she could be his girlfriend, to be by his side forever as his queen; but she couldn't very well date a little boy. Could she? Maybe in a few years, when he's older, but certainly not now.

The boy, Taro Kagami, had his hands in his pockets. He looked as if he was on a date. _'Probably a cover,'_ Misa thought. _'So he could be here with a reason.'_ Taro looked around, quickly scanning the room. Misa picked up the book she had brought with her as part of her cover, her journal, and put it to her face. She didn't want Kira knowing who she was, not just yet.

"Misa." Misa jerked a little at the unexpected voice. "Did you find Kira?" It was Rem. She hadn't realized that the Shinigami had come back.

"Yeah, I did," Misa told her quietly. "It's that little boy!"

Rem stayed quiet, then resumed speaking. "Then can we go? I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Yeah, okay." Misa stood up from her seat, grabbed her purse, and made her way toward the door.

* * *

Light looked at himself in the car's rear view mirror, making sure he looked presentable. He and Matsuda were heading for Ao-Yama to see if they could find anything relating to The Second Kira. While the situation with The Second Kira was important, he was more focused on the situation with The Boy; The Boy had the Death Note before Light did, and he wanted to eliminate him before he could get to L. If The Boy told L about the Death Note, then L would most likely find it soon after, and he couldn't let that happen.

"So, Light, your friends are gonna meet us there, right?" Matsuda asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Yeah. It'd be suspicious if we were by ourselves, so I called up a few of them to meet me there."

"You're going to introduce me as your cousin, right?"

"Yeah. You may look young enough to hang out with teenagers, but just to be safe, I thought it'd be a good idea to make them think you're family."

"Yeah, that is a good idea." Light felt the car slow down. "We're here."

Light opened his door and got out of the car. He could hear Ryuk's laughter; he was clearly excited over today.

"This way," Light said, gesturing to a group of teens near a fountain. "The others are over there."

"Got it." The two of them walked to the group of teens.

"Hey Light," Light heard one of them, Yamamoto, say. Yamamoto was one of the more intelligent people Light knew, and was, in fact, at one point, considered a rival to Light. However, Light always beat him, no matter what. ""Bout time you made it."

"Hey Yamamoto." Light waved at the group, then gestured to Matsuda. "This is my cousin, Suichi Asahi. I invited him to come with me."

"Hi everybody!" Matsuda said nervously. "Nice to meet you all."

"So, shall we go?" Light asked. The group then began to walk.

Light had asked Ryuk earlier if the other Shingami could see him, and he told him they could. Ryuk said there was no rule against a Shinigami informing the human they were with about other Shinigami, so he had to take precautions. This was the main reason he wanted to be in large group; if the other Shinigami _did_ decide to tell The Second Kira about Ryuk, then they still wouldn't know who he was with, since there were so many people.

Light and the others talked for a while they were walking. They had passed The Note Blue, and Light decided to keep an eye on it. He needed a reason to stay near it, and soon found one. He saw a diner, and headed for it, leading the others. "Come on, let's get something to eat. Sit down and chat."  
"Yeah, sure," Yamamoto said, heading over to Light. "Come on, guys."

Light guided the group to the diner, sitting down at the perfect seat to keep an eye on The Note Blue. Light and the others conversed for a while, when he noticed Ryuk had flown off. Light looked at him as he left; he saw the Shinigami heading for a small convenience store; a tray of fruits and vegetables lay in the front of the store. _'Oh. His apples again,'_ Light thought. He saw the Shinigami quickly grab a few apples and fly away so he could eat them without alerting people.

"So, Light, you still with that Yumi girl?" Light looked to see who had asked him a question, and realized it was Yamamoto. "Last I heard, you went to Space Mountain."

"Yeah, we did," Light replied. He wanted to keep his eye on The Note Blue, but he also had to talk talk to the others if he wanted to maintain his cover.

"So?" Yamamoto pushed. Light knew what he wanted; he wanted to know if he had any physical contact with her. He looked at him.

"I'm not going to brag about my sexual endeavors, Yamamoto. I don't kiss n' tell like you."

"Alright, alright. Just asking. You know, most teenagers brag about these kind of things."

"Well, I'm not like most teenagers," Light told him. "I respect the women I date."

Light was forced to converse with the others, making him unable to keep a good eye on The Note Blue. He was hoping to find The Second Kira, possibly even The Boy, though he was having no luck.

"Hey, Light." Light heard a voice from behind. It was Ryuk. "Have you found that kid yet? Or The Second Kira?"

_'Why does he insist on asking me questions when he knows I can't answer him?'_ Light thought. _'I know it's entertainment for him, but you'd think he'd get tired of it.'_

"Cause you know, he's here." Light almost responded to the Shinigami, about to ask where The Boy was, but stopped himself from doing so. He couldn't ask a question like that out of no where. And besides; Ryuk wouldn't tell him where he was even if he did ask. "Just thought I'd tell you that, be nice for a change."

_'Thanks, Ryuk,'_ Light thought sarcastically. _'But that doesn't help me unless I know what he looks like.'_

* * *

Rem watched with Misa Amane as a group of people walked passed The Note Blue. Misa was desperate to find Kira, a vigilante serial killer who was given a Death Note by a Shinigami named Ryuk. She didn't know why Misa loved this person so much; Rem could tell that Kira, whoever he was, was a heartless murderer who would kill anyone who found out his identity.

But Rem loved Misa; she promised she would help Misa in finding Kira, and also help her in her becoming her lover. Misa believed that the two of them were soul-mates, which frightened the Shinigami.

Rem watched as the group of people passed, and saw Ryuk, the Shinigami who gave his Death Note away in the first place. Being a Shinigami, she could see the name's and life-span's of all humans she saw. She had given Misa Shinigami Eyes after she requested them, though she was strongly against it; for a human to gain Shinigami Eyes, they must first trade half their remaining lifespan in order to acquire.

Rem thought Misa would run to Kira the moment she saw Ryuk, but she didn't. She just watched. She asked the human girl if she had found Kira yet, and she told her no. Rem wondered why she didn't find Kira. Misa wondered if she should wander around outside, to get a better view, but Rem told her to stay; she told her she would look for Ryuk, and thus find Kira.

Rem left The Note Blue and looked to her left, where the group of humans had passed. She could see Ryuk hovering over them; no doubt it was an attempt to hide from Rem, who could see other Shinigami. She flew over to Ryuk.

Her shadow cast over Ryuk, and the dark Shinigami looked up at Rem. "Ryuk, I wish to talk to you," Rem said. "Over there." She pointed to a building further away. She flew off, heading for the building. She could hear Ryuk following her.

Rem made it to the roof of the building and waited for Ryuk. Ryuk showed up, carrying several apples with him. "Want an apple?" Ryuk asked, holding out one of the red fruits to the female Shinigami. "Nice and juicy!"

"No thank you." Rem looked Ryuk in the eye. "I want to know the name of the human who has your Death Note."

"Why should I tell you?" Ryuk bit into one of his apples. "Maybe if you tell me yours, I'll tell you mine."

"I will not tell you her name," Rem told him. "But you will tell me his."

"And if I don't?"

"I know you are with that group of humans over there." Rem pointed to Light and his friends eating at a cafe. "If you don't tell me, I will kill them all." Rem new Kira would be among them, and wasn't really going to kill them; Misa worshiped Kira, and she would do nothing to hinder her chances of meeting him. But Ryuk didn't know that.

"What do I care?" Ryuk asked, his mouth full of apple.

"If I kill them all, then your entertainment goes away. Everyone in The Shinigami Realm knows why you did this,; if I kill Kira, then you lose your entertainment."

"Alright, alright." Ryuk ate another apple. "It's Light Yagami."

"If it is Light Yagami, then why has Misa not found him yet?"

"Misa? That your owner's name?" Rem mentally hit herself for saying Misa's name.

"Disregard that. I want to know why she can see his lifespan."

"She has The Shinigami Eyes, doesn't she? She can see everyone's-"

"No," Rem interrupted. "Human who have Shinigami Eyes cannot see the lifespans of other Death Note owners, so she shouldn't have been able to see his."

"Really?" Ryuk asked. "Huh. I didn't know that."

"I am not surprised. Now answer my question."

"Okay, okay. If you must know, Light wasn't the first person to touch the Death Note I dropped here. Someone else touched it first, so they would technically be the first owner, not Light."

"Then it is still considered owned by that person. At least until 490 days pass after he first touched it."

"490 days?" Ryuk asked. "What do you mean?"

"Of course you wouldn't know. There are many rules of The Death Note, Ryuk. But I am not going to waste my time explaining them to you. Farewell." Rem left, flying back to Misa at The Note Blue. She would tell her about Light Yagami when they arrived at Misa's home. She wanted to ask Ryuk about the first owner, but there was guarantee that the person even knew about the Death Note; for all she knew, they just happened to touch it in passing. But something told Rem that that wasn't the case.

* * *

Taro looked around The Note Blue, looking for anyone suspicious. He had been so caught up in his date with Sayu that he had almost forgotten about his main reason for coming to Ao-Yama; to find The Second Kira, and hopefully the original Kira. He looked at the people as quickly as he could; Sayu would be expecting him to return soon, so all he could do was take a quick note. _'I did NOT think this through at all!'_ Taro thought to himself. _'I can't believe I thought this would easy.'_

Taro looked at the people, seeing only seven people. He expected The Second Kira to be alone, seeing as having companions would distract them finding Kira. Taro saw three girls, together, reading at a booth. The girls seemed to be studying. They would occasionally look at each others notes, and Taro deduced none of them were involved; The Second Kira would need to keep an eye on the area, and these girls were absorbed in their books.

Taro then looked at a man typing away at a laptop; he was haggard, and looked as though he was under a lot of pressure. Taro wondered if he could be The Second Kira; the stress of being The Second Kira would certainly explain his appearance. The young man, who Taro guessed was in mid twenties, picked up a cup with steam rising from it. He took a quick gulp, and dropped the cup in pain, the contents of the cup spilling all over his computer. The man began to panic as he grabbed some napkins and started wiping down the computer.

Taro looked away from him, deducing he wasn't involved either, seeing as he was so worked up. He guessed the man was a student who was working too hard.

With four people done, Taro looked to the last three. One person, a waitress, was knocked off Taro's list, seeing as she would be back and forth all over the place. That left two. One was man reading a newspaper next to the entrance. Taro thought he could be the one, but the man was paying no attention to anybody.

Taro then looked at the last person; a black haired woman reading a book. The woman had glasses on, and she appeared to be alone. There was only one cup on her table. She looked as though she was dressed for work. He didn't know what it was, but something seemed off about her. Could The Second Kira be a woman? It made sense to Taro; The Second Kira's messages have sounded like they were from some groupie, an obsessed fan. A girl made sense.

Taro took his hands out of his pockets when he felt a vibration in his pants. His phone. He took his phone out of his pocket and looked to see who was calling. It was Sayu. _'Crap, Sayu!'_ Taro thought. Taro left The Note Blue as quickly as he came, and ran for the movie theatre. He didn't want to ruin his date with Sayu, even if it was about The Kira Case; he wouldn't be able to do anything about the woman, assuming she was The Second Kira to begin with.

Taro made it into the movie theatre, running passed the ticket guy. The ticket guy stopped him, and asked if he had a ticket. Taro showed him his ticket, showing he had already paid. Taro went to the bathroom before returning to the theatre and Sayu; he washed his hands in the sink in order to make it look like he really was in the bathroom. After leaving the bathroom, Taro then ran for the theatre where Sayu was supposed to be.

Taro stopped at the door to the room and composed himself; he didn't want to look sweaty and out of breath. After he caught his breath, Taro walked back in. He saw Sayu in the same spot as before, leaning her head against wall. Taro could tell she was annoyed. He went up to her.

"Hey," Taro said. "I'm back."

"What took so long?" Sayu asked. "It's been fifteen minutes."

_'Fifteen minutes?'_ Taro thought. He hadn't realized he was gone for that long. "Uh, sorry. I don't those home fries agreed with me." He sat down next to her.

"You washed your hands, right?"

"Yeah. See?" He held out his hands to show they were damp. "Used soap and everything."

"Good. Now come here." Sayu grabbed Taro and pulled him into another kiss, surprising the young boy. He returned the kiss after getting over the initial shock. Taro decided then and there that he would leave The Kira Case alone for the day; he wanted to spend the rest of the day with Sayu. His girlfriend.

* * *

_How'd you like it? I think it was awesome. How'd you like the twist with Light's life-span being visible? Clever, huh? This is where the story really diverges from the anime. Please remember to leave a Review!_


	13. Sleep

** 5,818 words this time. Nice. I'm pretty sure that I'm getting better. I do not own Death Note or any of the characters in it. Please remember to Read & Review.**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Sleep**

Light Yagami walked to his house in anger late at night; he had accomplished nothing at Ao-Yama, finding nothing out about The Second Kira or, more importantly, The Boy. Only a day passed after his going to Ao-Yama, and The Second Kira, idiotically, sent a message to L already. The Second Kira stated how he had found Kira, essentially telling L that Kira was at Ao-Yama on the twenty second; the day his prime suspect was there.

Light made it to his house and entered. The lights were on, blinding him for a few a seconds, his eyes adjusting to the illumination. "Oh, Light, you're finally home."

Light saw his mother, Sachiko, holding a basket full of clothing; it seemed she had done the wash. "I wondered when you would be home."

"I was out with some friends, Mom," Light told her. "I told you, remember?"

"Yes, I remember, but I didn't expect back so late."

"Sorry. I didn't think I'd be out this late. I'm gonna go in my room; I wanna study a bit before I go to bed."  
"Well, alright."

Light began his way upstairs. When he made it to the top of the stairs, he saw his sister getting out of her room; she was dressed in her pajamas, and seemed to be going to bed. She noticed him and smiled, running up to her older brother. "Light!" she yelled, hugging him around his waist. "I had the greatest day yesterday!" She released him and looked up at him.

"You did, huh?" Light asked. He went to his door and opened it. "Why don't you come on in, tell me about your little date." Though Light didn't really care, he figured he had to talk to her about her date, since she roped him into it.

"Sure!" Sayu said happily. She walked past Light, who closed the door after getting in himself. Light sat down at his desk, while Sayu sat on his bed.

"So, how'd it go?"

"It was great, Light! First we went to get something to eat; home fries at some cafe. We shared the plate, and we fed each other food!" She was very giddy.

"You fed each other?" Light asked. "That's a bit lovey dovey for my tastes."

"Well _I_ enjoyed it," Sayu stressed. "It told everyone there that he was mine, and that they shouldn't try anything."

"Oh, so that's why girls do that," Light responded, though he already knew that. "A lot of the girls I dated used to that."

"So, anyway, then we went to the movies. He took me to see 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe', that new movie made by Americans."

"I remember reading that book when I was kid," Light told her. "It was good."

"And that's not the best part." Sayu looked at Light. "We kissed!"

"You kissed? That's nice."

"No, I mean we _kissed_; you know, made out!"

Light looked at her with some shock; he wasn't liking this. "You made out?!" Light asked a little loudly, standing upright, out of his chair. He looked around, trying to hear if either of parents were near his room. He didn't hear them. Dropping his voice to a whisper, he looked his sister in the eye. He grabbed Sayu's arms. He felt his heart racing. "Sayu, did he make you do anything else? Anything at all?"

Sayu looked scared. "N-no!" she stuttered. "Light, it wasn't him! I'm the one who started it, not him! I wanted to do it!"

Light wondered why he was so panicked about this; why should he care if his sister was sexually active? It's not like it mattered. But he couldn't help it. "What do you mean you started it?"

"I mean _I'm_ the one who kissed him! He's not very smart when it comes to dating, so I thought I would start. I'm a little girl anymore Light; I'm a young woman."

"Right, a young woman." Light let go of his sister. He still didn't ike his sister doing things like this; Light was fourteen when he first made out with a girl; why should thirteen be any different? "I'm sorry, Sayu. It's just that ... you _are_ my little sister, after all; I can't help but feel protective of you."

"I appreciate that Light, really do. But like I said, I'm a young woman now. Or at least I'm turning into one."

"You did say she would have been the instigator," Light heard from above. He had forgotten about Ryuk. "Remember?" Light had to stop himsef from telling the Shingami off.

"So, tell me more about your date," Light said, wishing to hear more about his sister's boyfriend, as well get Ryuk out of his mind. He didn't know why, but he felt strange again. "What'd you do after the movies?"

"Oh, you know, just walked around and talked. We went to an arcade and played some games. 'House of the Dead', Skiball, 'Dance Revolution'; he's not very good at games. I beat him in everything we played!"

"Are you sure he didn't let you win?" Light laughed. "Cause, you know, you're not that good at games either!"  
"Shut up!" Sayu laughed back, throwing Light's pillow at him; he caught it, and threw it back on his bed. "And yes, I'm sure he didn't let me win; you can't fake being that bad!"

Light laughed, as did Sayu. They sat in silence for a few seconds, until Sayu yawned, bringing her hand up to her mouth. "I'm gonna go to bed, Light; I've had an exhausting day. Good night."

"Good night, Sayu."

Light watched his little stand and walk to the door. She opened the door, then stopped and turned around. She looked at Light. "Thanks for being worried about me Light. You're the best big brother a girl could ask for!" She left Light's room, closing the door. Light once again felt that strange feeling, though he still couldn't place.

Light spun his chair around so he would face his desk. He took a text book out of the drawer in front of and laid it on the desk. He opened it, and began to read.

"Hey, Light," Ryuk said. "What was that about? You freaked out back there."

"It was a momentary lapse in composure; Sayu's my sister, so it's natural that I have a desire to protect her."

"Oh. I didn't think you could be so full of concern for someone."

"Listen, would you leave me alone; I've got to study."

"Alright, alright."

Light began reading the book in front of him. He was studying math.

Light heard a knocking on his door. "Light!" It was his mother. "Someone's here to see."

"What?" Light stood, went to the door, and opened it. He saw his mother standing in front of him. "Who's here?"

"A girl. You left a book at school, and she brought it back."

_'A book?'_ Light thought. _'No way. Could it be?'_ He could hear Ryuk laughing behind him.

* * *

Misa Amane sat in her room looking at her Death Note. She wondered about the little boy, Taro Kagami, whose life-span she was unable to see. Could such a young boy be Kira? She looked behind to see Rem; the Shinigami seemed deep in thought. "Hey, Rem, what're you thinking so hard about?" she asked.

The Shinigami looked at Misa. "I am thinking about Kira. You said it was a little boy, correct? A child?"

"Yeah. I didn't think Kira would be so young. That totally ruins my plans to be his girlfriend!" The pop-star really wanted to be Kira's girlfriend. "I guess I could wait a few years, but I really wanted to be his girlfriend now!"

"Misa, there is something I must tell you."

"What is it Rem?" Misa wondered what Rem could possibly have to tell her.

"It is about this boy; he is not Kira."

Misa looked at her with confusion. "What do you mean? You said whosever life-span I couldn't see would be Kira."

"Yes, I did. However, the Shinigami who gave Kira his Death Note, Ryuk, I saw him at Ao-Yama. I followed him and asked him about Kira."

"Oh, so that's why you flew off!" Misa remembered the Shinigami flying off, telling her was going to look for Ryuk. "So what did he say?"

"I asked him why he was with the group of humans whose lief-spans were visible to you; he told me that someone else had come into possession of the Death Note before Kira himself. He also told me that person never officially gave up ownership of it, so that person would still be considered the owner."

"Wait, so the boy I saw at Ao-Yama, Taro Kagami, isn't Kira?"

"No. He is the original owner of the Death Note that Kira has. That is why you did not see the real Kira's life-span; because he is not the official owner."

"So, if Taro Kagami isn't Kira, then who is?" Misa asked.

"Ryuk told me his name was Light Yagami. He was with the group of humans that Ryuk was flying over."

"Light Yagami?" Misa repeated. She remembered seeing him pass; he was cute. "Yeah, I remember him!" She stood up and went to her computer. "Light Yagami was that really cute guy!"

Misa typed his name into the search engine, and was immediately met with a picture of the boy. She was right; he is cute. She clicked on a link and found herself reading about Light Yagami, the amazing student and occasional detective. "Wow," Misa said. "It says here he's goes to one of the best universities in Japan!" She continued reading, and came upon a segment about his tennis championship. "He was a tennis player! He's so cool!"

"Misa, what do you plan on doing?" Rem asked her. "What about this Taro Kagami?"

"I'll deal with him later," she told the Shinigami. "For now, I want to find where Light Yagami lives." Misa looked up Light some more, and soon found his address.

"Alright! I found it! He lives pretty close! All I have to do is take a bus and I can walk to his house!"

"Misa, are you sure about this? This Light Yagami may not be as good as you think he is."

"Oh, relax Rem!" The excited girl swiveled her chair around to look at Rem. "If he's dangerous, then I can easily deal with him! And besides, I know in my heart that Kira would never hurt me."

Misa stood and ran to her bed. She grabbed the equipment she used to make her message to Kira and began to make another. She wondered how Kira would deal with the boy, Taro; surely he wouldn't kill a child.

* * *

Taro opened his front door and entered his house, keeping the door open for his mother. After his date ended, his mother picked him and Sayu up, dropping Sayu off at her house. She kept asking about how the date went, if he acted like a gentleman the entire time. He said he was.

"I'm going to my room," Taro told his mother.

"Alright," she replied. "Make sure you take a shower before going to bed."

"Alright, I will." Taro walked up the stairs, sniffing his armpits as he did so; he did smell pretty bad. Taro went to his door and opened it, walking into his dark room.

Taro walked to his computer and turned it on. He took his flash-drive off his neck and plugged it into the computer; while he had not found anything concrete, he did want to document his visit to Ao-Yama. He typed about his date with Sayu as well.

Taro remembered back in The Note Blue when he looked around for the The Second Kira. He had seen a woman with short black hair and glasses. He began typing, trying to remember everything he could about the woman. He remembered she was reading a book, or at least appeared to be.

"There was something off about that girl," Taro said to himself. "I don't think she was reading that book at all; I think she was holding it." Taro wished he could have spent a longer time in The Note Blue, but he had to get back to Sayu. "Next time I'll plan ahead more thoroughly."

Taro sat and thought of the woman he saw; he tried to think of something to do to try and find her, but he couldn't think of anything. Taro saved everything on his flash-drive and took it out. He put the piece of technology back around and thought hard of what he could do now.

"Taro!" A knock at his door brought him out of his thoughts. "You have to take a shower now!"

"Alright Mom!" Taro called back. He got up from his seat and walked to the door. He opened to see his mother, her lifted to knock again. "I'll go now."

"Thank you." She walked to the stairs. "And don't forget to wash your hair! You have a girlfriend now; you have to nice hair if you want to keep her!"

"Mom!" Taro moaned. He could hear her laughing. He sighed.

Taro walked to the bathroom to take his shower. He looked at himself in the mirror; he realized he had his flash-drive around his neck, and removed it. He put it in the medicine cabinet to avoid it getting wet.

Taro unclothed and jumped in the shower. The water was cold at first, then warmed. He wondered what he could about The Second Kira, as well as Kira himself. Could he send another message? Say he knows who The Second Kira is? He was positive that the woman in black was The Second Kira; something about her just uneased him.

Taro washed his hair like his mother said, reading the label as 'Green Apple'; he wondered if Sayu would really care if his hair smelled like a fruit, but he knew girls were picky about those kind of things, so he figured he should do it.

After his shower, Taro dried off with a blue towel. He retrieved his flashdrive from the medicine cabinet and walked to his room. He was tired after the day's activities, and he wanted to go to sleep as soon as possible.

Taro went to his room and put his flash-drive in his computer desk drawer, then lay on his bed. His eyes were heavy, and he felt them closing. As he fell asleep, Taro hoped he would have a peaceful night's sleep, as opposed to his usual nights. He hoped he would dream of Sayu.

* * *

L sat on his couch in his new apartment, watching the survellience tapes from Ao-Yama; he had twice as many cameras installed at each of the locations The Second Kira mentioned in their journal entry, not wishing to miss anything. It was only six in the morning, so the other members of the task force hadn't come in yet; they usually came in at seven, eight at the latest.

L stood and ejected the tapes he was watching after they ended. He knew he'd find Taro Kagami on the tapes eventually; it was only a matter of time. He put in the next set of tapes, then sat back down. This videos he was now watching were of a movie theatre. He watched several videos at once, able to keep up with the extra work and concentration it required.

An hour passed when L saw a little boy enter the movie theatre with a little girl; it was Taro Kagami and Sayu Yagami. Taro seemed jittery, as opposed to Sayu, who was nothing but bubbly and happy. "I was wondering when you'd show up," L muttered.

L followed Taro's movements, making sure he never lost sight of him. He saw Sayu kiss him for a long time, with Taro clearly in shock; he wasn't expecting that. "Hmmm," L hummed.

About an hour later, he saw Taro look at his watch, then bolt up. L noticed the time stamp on the television; it was near noon. "Noon. That's the time The Second Kira specified he would be in Ao-Yama. Is Taro Kagami going to look for him?"

L watched as Taro talked to Sayu, seemingly in a hurry. Taro hurried out of the theatre, and L watched as he ran outside the building. Where was he going?

"Ryuzaki." L looked to his intercom. "Chief Yagami and the others are here. Shall I send them up?"

"Yes, thank you Watari." L paused the tape and shut the television off; if Light was Kira, then he didn't want him seeing Taro with his sister at Ao-Yama.

"Ryuzaki!" L heard a knocking at the door. It was Chief Yagami. "We're here. Please, let us in."

L walked to the door and opened it. Everyone was there; including Light. "You're later than I thought you'd be," L said. "No matter. Let's get started." L walked to his seat and sat down, as did the others.

They discussed the events of Ao-Yama on the twenty-second, as well as the events on the twentieth. Nothing interesting or prudent happened, which saddened L; he had hoped something, anything, would happen.

"Ryuzaki." L turned around to look at his computer, which had Watari's 'W' on the screen. "The Second Kira sent another message to Sakura TV. We managed to intercept it."

"A message?" L asked. His thoughts went to Light; only a day passed since Ao-Yama, and The Second Kira already sends a message? This couldn't be a coincidence.

"I'm sending it to you now." L stood up and went to his computer. He played the video The Second Kira had sent.

"I am glad to say that I have found Kira," the filtered voice said.

"What?" the others said.

"Kira, I will follow your orders like I promised." L listened to the video as it progressed.

After the message ended, they began to talk about it. "This isn't good," Aizawa said. "If the two Kiras have met each other, then who knows what'll happen."

"Yes," The Chief said, "we'll have to assume that the two Kiras have already met and cooperating with each other."

"I don't believe that's the case," L said.

"What do you mean, Ryuzaki?" Matsuda asked. "The Second Kira just told us he found Kira."

"Precisely. The Second Kira merely _found_ Kira; he said nothing about meeting him. I believe the two Kiras haven't met yet."

"So what should we do Ryuzaki?" The Chief asked.

"Well," L said, picking up a chocolate and throwing it in his mouth, "considering how things are going, we should probably send a message to The Second Kira as police, and try to convice him to make a deal with us."

"What kind of a deal?" Matsuda asked.

"Immunity to all his crimes thus far."

"You think he'll take the deal?" The Chief asked.

"I doubt it," L said. "But it's worth a shot."

The day continued rather uneventfully; more criminals died, but nothing connected to Light, as usual. L avoided mentioning the tapes to the others, fearful that Light would see and recognize Taro Kagami. When asked about the tapes, he merely lied and told them they weren't delivered yet.

When it became dark, L felt his body begin to sag; he didn't sleep the night before, and it was finally catching up to him. "Ryuzaki," Aizawa said, "it's getting late, and we have to get home to our families. I haven't seen my daughter in days."

"Yes, I think it is time we ended for today; I myself am getting a bit tired." L blinked to keep himself awake. He had never been this tired before in his life. "You can all leave now. I wish to go to sleep." L stood and walked over to the couch; he sat down in his usual position, and closed his eyes.

He could hear the others moving. "Is he asleep already?" he heard Matsuda whisper.

"Let's just leave him alone," The Chief whispered back. "He's been working non-stop since the day he started this case. Let's just leave quietly."

L's hearing began to go as he heard the door open and close. He then footsteps coming near him, and he soon felt a blanket being thrown on him. "Good night, Ryuzaki," L heard someone say. It sounded like The Chief.

Left alone in the apartment, L began to fall asleep. As he fell asleep, he thought of Taro Kagami; he had wanted to wait until the end of the month to confront him, but with The Second Kira finding the first Kira, he didn't want to take the chance. "I'll meet you tomorrow," L muttered, his voice a droll as he fell asleep. "Taro Kagami." He fell asleep.

* * *

Light walked to the door as his mother and sister watched. He saw a girl, about his age, standing in front of the door. She had long blonde hair, and seemed to be dressed like a goth. Light closed the door to avoid his family from overhearing anything.

"Hello," the girl said. "My name is .. Misa Amane. Nice to meet you." She bowed her head.

"Hello," Light said back. "My mother said you had something that belongs to me?"

"Yes." The girl, Misa, reached into her purse and pulled out a black book. Light looked at it with shock. Though it wasn't in any human language, he knew what the book read; Death Note.

Light reached out and touched the book. After touching it, he looked up to see a large, white humanoid creature with purple tipped tendrils for hair. A Shinigami. Light let go of the book, then looked at Misa. "Why don't you come inside?" he said.

"Oh, um, thank you." Light opened the door and gestured for Misa to enter. Light followed her in, closing the door behind him.

He saw his mother and sister looking at him with surprise. "What?" he asked. "I already told you about her." Luckily he had lead them to believe he had a girlfriend, so he could that as a cover. "Mom, she came a long way to return my book; could you make us some tea?"

"Uh, sure." His mother turned around and headed for the kitchen to start a pot of tea. Sayu just looked at him as he walked up the stairs.

Light guided Misa to his room, opening the door for her. After they went in, Light grabbed his computer and rolled it to Misa. "Have a seat," he said.

"Thank you." Misa sat down, and Light sat across from her, sitting on his bed.

After a moment of silence, Light finally spoke. "So," he said, "how did you find me?"

Misa's eyes lit up. "Oh, I knew it was you!" she said. "Rem _was_ right about you!'

"Rem? Is that the name of the Shinigami with you?" Light looked at the white Shinigami.

"Yes, my name is Rem." The Shinigami, which Light guessed to be female, was looking at him with wary eyes.

"So you told her about Ryuk. But how did you-" Light stopped talking when he remembered Ryuk flying off. He looked at the dark Shinigami, who began laughing; he must have figured out that Light knew about his telling Rem. "You told her?"

"She made me tell her," the Shinigami said nonchalantly. "What can I say?"

Light looked at Misa, deciding to deal with Ryuk's lies later. Misa told Light about how she came across her Death Note; a Shinigami had fallen in love with her, and saved her by killing her attacker. However, the Shinigami died as a result. Light was intrigued with this new information, and wondered if he could use it later.

They then talked about The Kira Investigation, about L's suspecting Light, and about how to deal with him.

"Wow," Misa said, "L is really that close to you? Everyone thinks he's an idiot who's gotten nowhere! He must be _really_ good if he already suspects you."

"He's better." Light thought. "L's far more intelligent than anyone I've ever met; he's honestly a challenge to me."

"Wow. It's a good thing I sent you that message then, huh?" Misa said. "All you have to do is bring me to L and I can learn his name."

"It's not that simple," Light said. "He already knows that you can kill people without knowing their names, so he's not gonna let anyone except for the task force members near him."

"Oh. Bummer."

"Not only that, but I may have use for L; there's someone I need to find, someone who knows about the Death Note and the existence of Shinigami."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Misa asked. "Who else knows?"

Light looked to his side. "You see, there's a kid out there who owned the Death Note I have before me; I don't know how he still has his memories, but I suppose it's possible that he wrote the information down, or perhaps recorded himself a message, just in case he lost his memories. But that doesn't seem likely."

"Wait, a kid?" Misa repeated. "You mean the boy?"

Light looked at Misa, shocked she knew about The Boy. "You know about him?"

"Yeah. I saw him at Ao-yama, in The Note Blue. He ran inside, then left a few minutes later."

Light thought of this boy she had seen. If this WAS The Boy, then all he had to do was have Misa write his name down and he would have dealt with him! Light thought of a fitting death for the little brat, then realized something. "Wait," Light said. "How do you know this kid? How do you know he's The Boy I'm talking about?"

"Because I didn't see his life-span," Misa told him. "If you have Shinigami Eyes, then you can see everyone's name and life-span. But you can only see the name of another Death Note owner, not his life-span."

"What?" He looked at Ryuk.

"Hey, I only learned about it a couple days ago!" he said. "Rem's the one who told me."

Light took a deep breath. He thought of The Boy, and how he could not have the Death Note and still retain his memories. "Rem." Light looked at the white, skeletal Shinigami. "Is there any way a person could officially own a Death Note, but not actually have it on them?"

"Yes, of course. The Death Note will be officially disowned by the owner if they do not come into contact with it after 490 days. Until that time passes, it is still considered theirs; therefore, they would be the official owner, even if they do not have it on them."

Light thought of this. _'That must be how The Boy kept his memories; he must've never officially given up ownership of the Death Note, merely lost it. Either that, or Ryuk simply took it.'_ Light thought more about this. The more he thought of it, the more sense it made to him.

"Alright Misa, here's what I need you to do," Light said slowly. "I need you to write that kids name in your Death Note, and make him destroy anything related to the existence of Shinigami and the Death Note. Can you do that?"

* * *

Misa looked at Light Yagami, Kira, with shock; he had just asked her if she could murder a child, a little boy, just to hide who he is. "You have to make sure he dies in an accident; otherwise, L will notice his death and investigate." She was speechless; could Kira, the person who killed the man who killed her parents, really consider killing a little boy? "So L won't catch on, I'll kill a few more children, to help cover his death. Alright?"

Misa began to shake a little. He said he would even _more_ children. She didn't mind killing adults, those who stood against Kira. But a child? He was just a little boy.

"Are you sure?" Misa asked. "I mean, he's just a little kid. Surely he can't be that big of a problem."

Light looked angry. "He's a threat that has to be eliminated," Light said calmly, though Misa could feel the anger he was holding back. "He knows about the Death Note, he knows about Ryuk. If L were to ever find him, then he would be able to see Ryuk and point me out; are you willing to let that happen?"

Misa thought about what Light said; she didn't want him going to prison, but to a kill a little boy? She wasn't sure. "Can I think about it?" she asked. "It's not a very easy decision."

"I don't think you realize your position here," Light threateningly. He held up Misa's Death Note, as well as his own. "I have both Death Notes now, so I can easily kill you. I can even make you write his name down for me, then it would be a matter of days until I find him myself."

"I will not let that happen!" Light looked up at the white Shinigami. Her eyes glowed from the angle Light was sitting. "Light Yagami, if you do anything that results in this girl's death, then the first thing I will do is write YOUR name in my Death Note."

"What?" Light asked, fear and surprise in his voice.

"But Rem," Misa said, scared for the Shinigami, "if you do that, you'll die, won't you?"

"Yes. However, I am willing to accept that fate if it means saving you, Misa. I will not let any harm come to you."

Light thought of his new predicament; not only would he have to avoid detection from the police, but he would also have to protect her. He looked back at Misa. "Will you please consider my request?" he asked politely. "Think of it like this; in a few years, this kid'll be an adult, right?"

"Yeah." Misa wondered where he was going with this.

"So, don't think of it as killing a child. Think of it as eliminating a future threat to The New World. _Our_ world." Misa looked up at him. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

"You mean we can be together?"

"Yes, Misa. We can be together. However, that can only happen if you do as I ask. So," he looked her deep in the eyes; "can you do it?"

Misa thought of this. Was he right? Was this child, this young boy, just a future threat? It made sense to kill him. But he was still just a little boy.

"I would if I could," Misa replied. "But to be honest, I don't remember his name."

"What?" Light said, once again holding back his anger. "How could you forget?"

"Well, I was so shocked that he was kid that, I didn't really get good look at his name; I'm sorry."

After a few moments of silence, Light spoke up. "It's alright Misa," Light said softly. "It's just an honest mistake. However, you need to promise me, that if you ever see him again, you'll remember his name. Alright?"

Misa looked at Light. "Alright, Light. I'll remember next time."

"Good." Misa then felt Light's lips on her own. He was kissing her! Misa closed her eyes, enjoying the kiss. Light was a really good kisser. A few seconds later, she felt him pull him away. "Thank you, Misa."

Misa just looked at him. She had never been kissed by anyone like that before. He really did love her. A knock at Light's door shocked her out of his stupor. "Light!" a woman said. It was his mother. "It's getting late, and I don't want your friend here too late. Especially a girl!"

"Alright, Mom!" Light replied, turning his head to the door. He looked back at Misa. "You should go," Light said, letting her go.

"Yeah, alright," Misa said stupidly. "Sure." She clumsily walked to Lights door.

As she walked to the bus stop, Misa thought of the little boy she had seen. Taro Kagami. That was his name. Misa lied to Light; she not only remembered his name, but his face as well. She could do as Light wanted right now. But she wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do.

"Rem." she asked sullenly. "What should I do? I want to help Light, I really do, but can I really kill that boy? I mean, he's just a little kid."

"Misa, I know you want to help Light Yagami, but to kill a child is a taboo in your world. To kill a child is taboo even in The Shinigami Realm; The Shinigami King even made a rule for such a reason; the Death Note cannot affect those under 790 days old. While there is no punishment for killing children above that age, it is still frowned upon by some Shinigami."

"Would you hate me if I did it?" Misa asked. "If I killed a child?"

Misa waited for the Shinigami to answer. It took her a while to respond, but when she did, it didn't comfort the pop-star in the slightest. "I will always love you, Misa. However, I would not approve of you killing a child. I will not stop you if you choose to do so, but I will advise against it."

Misa stopped walking. She wanted to find a way out of this. "Why did I have to say I knew that kid, anyway?" Misa said angrily. "Everything would've been fine if I had just kept my stupid mouth shut!"

Misa could feel tears running down her face. The Shinigami stopped flying, and Misa could here her landing in front of her. "Misa, look at what Light Yagami has done to you," she said. "He has asked you to kill a child, someone you do not wish to kill. Is he really worth it?"

Misa thought of Rem's words. Light wanted to make the perfect world, free of sin, filled only with people who deserved to live. But was it worth killing a child?

"I have to think about this," Misa said through her tears. "I have to think about this." She resumed her walk to her home.

Misa walked in silence until she reached her home. She opened her door and went straight to her bed, lying down on the comfy bed. She thought of what she should do; should she kill Taro Kagami, a child, a future threat, just so The New World could be made? In a few years he would be an adult, but right now, he was a child.

Not bothering to change into her night clothing, Misa began to lower her eyes. She could feel herself beginning to fall asleep. She wondered what she would end up doing as she finally fell asleep.

* * *

**I figured that Misa would have something against killing children, so I thought this was a good twist. Not much of Taro in this chapter, but whatever. I also figured that Shinigami would have some kind of taboo things, such as killing children, so I added that in. Remember to leave a Review!**


	14. Introduction

**I apologize for the late update; I've had school to finish up, as well as some personal things. You can expect the rest of the story to be updated in it's usual time. Also, this chapter is 4713 words long, excluding the bold parts. Hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Introduction

Misa walked down the hall to her and Light's bedroom, carrying a tray of breakfast for her husband. Today was their anniversary, and she wanted to surprise him with breakfast in bed. She entered the room and found him putting on his tie.

"You're leaving already?" she asked. "But it's our anniversary."

"I have to get to work; I just got the names of several powerful criminals that have avoided justice, and I need to kill them before I head out."  
"Will you at least eat your breakfast?"

"I don't have time for that." He finished fixing his tie, and walked passed Misa. He turned around to look at her. "Go wake up Ryuzaki; he's ten years old, and I want him to start using the Death Note."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure! Now go wake him up!"

Misa watched as Light walked away, going into his study to work. She looked at the tray in her hands, and sighed; Light never wanted to celebrate their anniversary, or any other special occasion. Well, that's not true; he liked celebrating the day that he killed L, otherwise known as Ryuzaki, and the last person who stood against his dominion of the new world. That was the only time he ever seemed happy.

Misa walked to her son's room, opening the door and finding him still asleep in his bed. His father had named him Ryuzaki, after the great detective who had plagued him, though she wasn't sure why. Was it to insult L? Was it to honor him, as a great opponent? She didn't know. She placed the tray of food on a nearby dresser and walked over to her son. "Honey, it's time to wake up," she whispered lightly, gently shaking him.

"Already?" he asked groggily. Misa was still amazed at how much he looked like his father. Just as handsome, just as perfect. If not more so.

"You're father wants you to learn how to bring justice properly," she told him. "He thinks you're old enough now. Now get up; I have some breakfast here for you." She walked over to the tray she had prepared for Light, and picked it up. She brought it to Ryuzaki, who looked at the tray with hungry eyes.

"Thank you, Mom," he said. He grabbed the knife and fork and started eating. He stopped when he saw a small note under the plate. He lifted the plate and looked at the piece of paper. His eyes sulked. "Dad didn't eat his breakfast?"

"No," Misa told him. "But that's okay; it saves me from making more for you."

Ryuzaki put the note back on the tray, and resumed eating. Misa could tell that he was upset; he didn't like his father ignoring his mother like that. But she didn't mind. Misa watched her son eat, and took the tray when he finished. She walked out of the room so she could clean the dishes.

* * *

Taro opened his eyes to his mother knocking on his door. "Taro!" she said loudly. "Taro! It's time to get up!"  
Taro sat up woozily. He blinked his eyes, getting rid of the sleep he had. "I'm up," he said groggily. He looked at his clock; it was almost 7:30. He had to be at school in less than an hour.

"Oh man, I forgot about school." He got off his bed and walked to his dresser. He rummaged around, looking for anything he could wear. He quickly found a pair of jeans and a green shirt, and put them on. He went to his bed and looked under it to retrieve his shoes. He found them and put them on.

"Taro, are you ready?" his mom asked. "You can't be late!"

"I'm ready!" Taro called back. He tied his shoes and walked over to his schoolbag. "I'm just grabbing my bag."

"You have to hurry. I have an appointment with the doctor today, and I can't be late."

Taro opened his door to find his mother waiting for him, dressed and keys in hand. "Okay, let's go."

Taro walked into the school, hurrying to his classroom. He was already late enough as it was, and he didn't want to get in trouble. He made it to the classroom, stopped in front of the door, and looked at his watch; it was 8:14. He was late.

He walked into his classroom, still tired from lack of sleep. He hoped he wouldn't fall asleep in class; he was doing so well in school now, and he didn't want to fall back into his old habit fall of being late and falling asleep. When he entered, he found most of the class standing around, talking. He didn't see Mr. Kikukawa, their teacher.

He saw Sayu sitting in her usual spot, talking to some of her girl friends. She spotted him and gestured for him to come over.

Taro walked over, a little embarrassed. He didn't want Sayu bragging about having him as a boyfriend, that would just be uncomfortable. "Hey, Sayu."

"Good morning, honey!" She grabbed his arm and kissed him on the cheek. She looked at her friends. "See? Didn't I tell you he was handsome?"

"I've seen better," one of the girls said. "You're brother's way hotter than him."

"He is not!" Sayu said defensively. "Besides, he doesn't count; he's my brother."

"Uh, Sayu?" Taro was feeling more uncomfortable with each passing second. Class is gonna start soon; shouldn't we sit down?"

She looked at him. "Oh, that's right, you just got here," she said. "Mr. Kikukawa is absent today. We have a substitute."

"A substitute?" Taro repeated. He breathed out a deep breath. 'Thank god,' he thought. 'The substitutes not gonna care about me being late.'

"Yeah, some old guy," one of the girls said. "He left to get something."

"He's probably senile," another girl joked, laughing. "He has to be at least seventy."

"Actually, I'm sixty-five." Taro turned around and saw an old man, the substitute, standing in front of the class. "And I'll have you know that I'm actually quite all there in head."

"Oops," the girl said. "Sorry, Mr. Ryu."

"It's alright, miss Kimiko. Now, if you'd all please return to your seats, I have the papers your teacher wanted you work on today."

The class quieted down, and they all went back to their seats. Taro felt himself being pulled to his seat by Sayu, who forced him to the chair. She sat next to him, forgoing her regular seat to be next to him.

Taro watched as the old man, Mr. Ryu, walked around the classroom to hand out the papers. Taro felt like he knew the man from somewhere, but he couldn't place his finger on it. When he reached Taro and Sayu, he looked at Taro. "I don't recall you being here earlier, young man," he said. "What is your name?"

Taro cursed inside his head. He was hoping there would be no attendance today. "Taro," he replied. "Taro Kagami."

"Taro Kagami," Mr. Ryu repeated. "Yes, I remember. I marked you as absent. I suppose I'll have to change that to late."

"Sorry, sir."

"No matter." He handed two sheets of paper to Taro, who gave one to Sayu. He looked at the contents of the paper; quadratic equations. Simple enough.

"Oh, man. I hate quadratic equations," Sayu muttered. Taro wondered how Sayu still couldn't get this stuff; not only did he tutor her, but she's also gotten her brother to do so as well.

"Don't worry," Taro comforted her. "I'll help you through them."

Sayu smiled. "Thanks, Taro."

* * *

L sat in his chair, conversing with with the rest of the task force about Taro Kagami. It was reaching eight o' clock, and Chief Yagami poured coffee into several cups.

"I'm sorry about the you having bring us coffee, Mister Yagami," L apologized. He took a sip, and grimaced. He reached for the sugar cubes, taking several of them and dropping them in the cup of coffee, and started to stir with his spoon. "But with Watari out on his assignment, I had no one make it for us."

"I don't mind at all, Ryuzaki." The Chief grabbed his cup and took a sip. "I prefer to make my own anyway."

"So where is Watari?" Matsuda asked. "What did you send him out to do?"

"As I said before, I wished to meet Taro Kagami on the first of the month. However, I have decided to speed up my plans." L took a large sip of his coffee, enjoying the sweetness of it. He could feel some sugar still left undissolved at the bottom. "Given what has occurred in the passed few days, I have decided to meet him today."

"Today?" Matsuda asked. "When are you going to meet him?"

"After school." L reached for chocolate and threw it in his mouth. "Watari is posing as a substitute teacher for Taro Kagami's class. I asked him to hold him back after class, so I could meet with him in the school."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Aizawa asked. "Meeting him in a school?"

"Aizawa's right," Matsuda agreed. "Shouldn't we bring him here? Wouldn't that be safer for the both of you?"

"No, it wouldn't. If I bring him here, then there's the possibility that Light will see him. Not only that, but the school will be a perfect place for us to meet. After all, an exceptional student being held back after class isn't that suspicious."

"Hmm. I suppose you have a point." Matsuda took a sip of his coffee. "But what about us? Should we go with you?"

"No, I will meet with him alone. A bunch of police officers will surely attract attention." L took another chocolate and put it in his mouth. He chewed it slowly, and drank some coffee to wash it down. "I will meet with him alone, with no cameras or wires being hidden anywhere; not even Watari will be there to hear."

"Very well," The Chief said. "What would you like for us to do in the meantime?"

"I would like you to keep your son away the school," L told him. "I don't want to risk him coming to pick her up or something."

"Very well."

"Now, if you'll excuse, I need to get ready. I want to go over a few things by myself before I visit Taro Kagami." L stood, and walked off towards another room for privacy. "The rest of you can go home. Tend to your families. You probably haven't seen them for a full day in months."

L opened the door to the room and went inside. He heard the rest of the task force leave the room, and went to the bed that he hardly ever slept on. He sat down, trying to think of what he would say to Taro Kagami.

* * *

Misa sat on the couch as she cycled through the faces of the recent criminals and suspects that people posted on the official Kira website. Ever since Light had defeated L, as well as eliminated every other person that threatened him, the world had finally accepted Kira as their saviour. But that didn't mean that everybody still behaved. They still had murderers and thieves, rapists and sexual offenders. Light dealt with them, while Misa dealt with 'undesirables', those who did not contribute to society, such as the homeless.

Misa felt bad for killing the homeless, but did as Light ordered her to. He knew what was best. How could he not? She ran through the photos of the undesirables, writing their names in her Death Note while thinking of their faces. She stopped when she came upon a photo of a child. The child was rather large, and had a mean face on him. She wondered what he could have to deserve to die. "He's probably a bully," Misa muttered. She remembered Light's orders; kill everyone on the website, including children; bullies would become future aggressors, murderers, thieves, rapists. She closed her eyes and shed a tear as she wrote the boy's name down. She stopped with his first name.

"Misa." Misa looked behind her to find Rem, her best friend and Shinigami. After all these years, she still stood by her side. "Are you sure you wish to do that?"

"Yes, of course of I'm sure!" she told her. "He'll just become another bad person in the future!"

"But he is only a child, Misa," Rem told her. "You do not like killing children. Why do this if it makes you sad?"

"Because Light said so. Even if he is just a little boy, I have to do it." She could feel more tears running down her cheeks.

"Mom?" Misa turned around to see her son, Ryuzaki. "Why're you crying?"

Misa looked at her son and grabbed him, hugging him tight. She forgot that he can't see Rem or Ryuk, not until Light let him touch the Death Note. "Oh, Ryuzaki!" She cried into her son's shoulder. "What do I do?"

Misa bolted up from her bed, awaking from her dream. She could feel tears running down her cheeks, and rubbed her eyes to get rid of them. She was breathing heavily, and she wondered why she had dreamt such a horrible dream.

"Misa, are you alright?" She looked at Rem, the Shinigami's face filled with worry. "You were mumbling in your sleep, though I couldn't understand what you were saying."

"I just had a bad dream is all." Misa wondered what the dream meant. Did she doubt Light? Was it her subconcious telling her that Light would kill even more children? She didn't know. "I'm alright Rem. Thank you for caring."

"Misa, what was your dream about?"

Misa didn't want to tell her, but she felt that she had to. "It was about Light."

"I thought so. You had a nightmare about what he has asked you to do, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did," Misa sighed. "I don't want to kill a little boy, Rem. I mean, he's just a kid. What should I do?"

"Misa, why not tell Light Yagami that you will not kill the boy? He cannot harm you, otherwise I would kill him."

"Because then he wouldn't love me, Rem!" Misa loved Light with all her heart and soul, and knew that they were meant to be together forever. But they couldn't be together if she didn't kill Taro Kagami.

"Misa, I believe I have a solution to your problem," Rem said. Misa looked at her.

"You do?" Misa asked. "What is it?"

"You can write down the boy's name in the Death Note, like Light Yagami is asking of you."

"But Rem-" Misa began.

"Let me finish Misa," Rem told her. She reached behind her back, and pulled something out from behind her. She handed to Misa, who took it from the Shinigami's hand. It looked like an eraser. "After you write his name down, you can use this to revive him."

"What?" Misa asked. "What do you mean revive him? Like, bring him back to life?"

"Yes," Rem told her. "The object in your hand is called the Death Eraser; it is the only thing that can reverse the effects of a Death Note. They are only given to the highest level of Shinigami, as they pose a great threat to the balance of the human world. Use this, and you can gain Light Yagami's love, as well as spare the boy."

"So all I have to do is erase his name afterwards?"

"Yes. However, the boy's body must be intact for the Death Eraser to work, and you must erase his name soon after writing it. Otherwise he won't be able to come back."

Misa looked at the tiny eraser. She could not only win Light's love, but she could also spare the little boy in the process. "Thank you, Rem!" Misa yelled. She jumped onto the Shinigami, hugging her as hard as she could. She kissed her on the cheek. "Now nothing bad has to happen!"

"Will you do it now?" Rem asked. "Or wait for Light Yagami's order?"

Misa thought about Rem's words. "I guess I'll wait for Light to give the order. I mean, I want him to know that I'm doing it, after all."

* * *

Taro was packing his books into his school bag after class was finished, getting ready to leave for Sayu's house. The substitute, Mr. Ryu, had given them hard work to do, something that even Taro wasn't sure he got right. "You ready?" Sayu asked.

"Yeah, just a few seconds." Taro was feeling nervous; Sayu wanted to take him to her house, so he could formally meet her parents. He was sure he would screw up somehow. He packed up the last of his books and shouldered his pack. "Alright, let's go."

The two of them headed for the door. "Mr. Kagami," Taro stopped and looked behind him, "I would like to speak to you."

"Um, why?" Taro asked. He wondered what he had done. "Did I do something?"

"No, nothing at all. But I will have you for a while, so Miss Yagami," he looked at Sayu, "I would suggest you go home. I am sorry for the inconvenience."

"Oh." Sayu looked at Mr. Ryu, then Taro. "Well, I guess you can come over tomorrow."

"Yeah. Sounds good." Taro kissed her cheek, embarrassed to do so in front of the old man. He watched Sayu walk out the door, then watched her walk down the hall until she went into the stairway.

Taro turned around to look at the old man. "So, what am I staying behind for?" Taro asked.

"I want to introduce you to someone," he told the young boy. "Someone who has been looking forward to meeting you for a while now."

Taro was confused; who would want to meet him? He was just a kid. "Who?"

"Me," Taro heard a voice say. He didn't recognize it, but it sounded ... familiar. Taro turned around and found himself looking at a tall, pale skinned man. His eyes seemed clouded, and he had large bags under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in weeks. It reminded Taro of a panda. "I've been waiting to meet you, Taro Kagami. My name is L."

* * *

"My name is L," L told him. "No doubt you've heard of me."

The boy's eyes widened. "What?" he asked. "L? The detective?"

L waited a few seconds before answering, enjoying the dramatic silence. "Yes, the detective. I have some questions for you, as I'm sure you have some for me."

"What're you doing here?" Taro asked. L noticed that he wasn't skeptical, that he wasn't asking why L, the great detective, was all of a sudden in front of him. This all but confirmed his suspicions.

"I felt it would be best if we met here." L walked towards one of the many chairs and sat down, putting his knees up to his chest.

Taro's eyes looked around. "How do I know you're L?"

"Simple," L answered. "You sent me a message, posing as Kira. You were the one who told me that it was Kira who killed Naomi Misora. I also know you followed Raye Penber in the subway, and ran to help him when he collapsed."

The boy smiled shakily. "You found me. Thank god," he breathed out heavily. He seemed to have been holding his breath. "I was afraid you never would!"

"Well, now you don't have to worry." L prepared to get down to business. "Now then, I know you know something about Kira, and I need to know what that is."

"Kira?" Taro repeated. "Right, I'll tell you everything I can!" He pulled a chair up next to L, and sat down across from the great detective.

"First I would like to know how he kills his victims. Does he wish death upon them?"

"No, he doesn't. He uses the Death Note."

'Death Note,' L wondered. 'What on earth is a Death Note?'

"The Death Note can kill anyone who's name is written in it, so long as you know what their name is."

"A name and a face," L stated. "That would fit my theory about his method of killing. And what exactly is a Death Note?"

"A Death Note is just as it's name implies; a notebook of death. Death Notes are owned by, and you're probably not gonna believe me-"

"Shinigami," L interrupted. The boy had a shocked look on his face. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are. But how do you know about Shinigami?"

"Kira sent me a coded message a few months ago. 'L, did you know, Shinigami love apples?'; he was mocking me."

"Sounds like an idiot."

"Quite the opposite actually. He's eluded capture thus far, and managed to kill a dozen F.B.I. agents within a week. Anyways, back to Kira. Do you know how he came into possession of this 'Death Note'?"

Taro's face dropped. He seemed ashamed. "It was my fault," he said. "I gave the book back to Ryuk; he said he would die if I destroyed it, like I did the other."

"The other?" L asked. "So there were two?"

"Yes. My friend, Miura Asahi, had found the second one." Taro began to tell L about the incident with the Death Notes, from how he had accidently killed his classmates, then how Miura had killed them again. L listened intently, making sure he did not miss any detail. He listened intently about Ryuk, the dark Shinigami, and how he 'dropped' the Death Notes. He took note of how only people who have touched this 'Death Note' could see and hear Shinigami, and knew that he could use that to his advantage. He was especially interested in the part about the 'Death Eraser'; Taro said that it could bring those who were killed by the Death Note back to life, provided the body wasn't destroyed and it was still fresh.

"I see. So the first death's were an accident, like I thought."

"Wait, you mean you know about that?"

"Yes, I do. Everything fit together perfectly; the timing, the deaths, you. Everything made sense." L was biting his nail throughout the whole story. He released his nail and looked at Taro. "Would you still be able to see this Shinigami, Ryuk?"

"I think so, yeah. I mean, I remember everything about him and the Death Note, so I should be able to see him."

L thought about Light Yagami, his prime suspect. Wouldn't Taro have seen the Shinigami if he had seen Light? He knew for a fact that he had been near Light several times, yet he never gave any hint about seeing the Shinigami. That meant that Light was either innocent, or he couldn't see the Shinigami anymore.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah, definitely. Why?"

"Because, if you could see the Shinigami, then you should have seen him by now."

"What do you mean?"

"You have been near our prime suspect several times, and yet you never saw this Ryuk."

"Ryuk told me that he was on Earth because he was bored with his world. He probably flew away to prevent me from seeing him." Taro then realized something. "Wait, what do you mean I've been near your prime suspect?"

L agreed with his theory, about the Shinigami flying away so he wouldn't be discovered. He then registered what Taro had asked. "You may not like this, but I believe your girlfriend's brother, Light Yagami, is Kira."

* * *

Taro couldn't believe his ears. L thought that Light was Kira? Light was the most upstanding person Taro knew. How could he be a monstrous serial killer? "What are you talking about?" Taro asked. "Light, Kira? That's insane."

"Everything we have uncovered points to him. One of the F.B.I. agents, the very one you followed, was following Light as part of the investigation. He was also the only one to exhibit strange behaviour before his death."

Taro was silent. Could Light be Kira? He thought of all the horrible things that have occurred in the past few months. He remembered Light always being about justice, about bad guys getting what's coming to them. "But..." he trailed off. "Why would he kill all those people? The bad guys, fine, but why the cops, why people who're trying to catch him? He's always been about justice, about doing what's right. Why would he...?"

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely," L said. Taro remembered that quote, though he didn't know who said it. "The power to kill people has driven him mad. He's not the Light Yagami you knew."

Taro remained silent.

"Taro, I want you to see Light Yagami, catch him off guard, and see if you see the Shinigami, Ryuk. If you see him, then it confirms my theory."

"What will happen to him?" Taro asked. "Will he be killed?"

"I don't know," L replied. "It would be up to the world leaders to decide that."

"What about the Death Note? Even if you're right, and you do arrest him, I doubt he would just give up the notebook."

"I'll take drastic measures; burn everything related to the Yagami household. That way we know for sure the notebook of death is destroyed."

Taro then thought of something. "What about The Second Kira? How do you plan on catching her?"

"Her?" L asked. "How do you know it's a woman?"

"I saw a strange girl at The Note Blue; she seemed out of place. I didn't get a good look at her though."

"Hmm. That girl was most likely The Second Kira; the tapes we recieved from The Second Kira had small fingerprints on them, so I assumed they were from a woman or a child. It seems I was correct."

"Well, what about her?"

"A girl by the name of Misa Amane stopped by the Yagami household last night," L told him. "I have had the household under constant surveillance by someone on the task force, and the person on shift that night saw Misa Amane go inside the house. We've also collected hairs and fingerprints from her home. It's all circumstantial, but it's to convince me. That reminds me; what are "The Eyes'? The Second Kira mentioned them."

"I don't know," Taro told him, shrugging his shoulders. "I remember Ryuk mentioning that he could see the name and life-spans of humans, but I don't see how a human can."

"Hmm. Perhaps the Shinigami with her tells her the names of her victims?"

"Maybe," Taro said.

The room was quiet for a moment. Taro looked at the clock above the chalkboard, and was shocked to see that it was well passed five; he had been talking with L for over three hours. "Listen, I have to get home," Taro told him. "My mom's probably worried sick."

"Oh, yes. Sorry to have to kept you for so long." L stood and looked at Taro. "Taro, I want you to come to current headquarters a week from now, at this time; I will have Chief Yagami pick you up. Tell your mother it is for a date with Sayu."

"Mister Yagami? He's on your task force?"

"Yes. And he knows of my suspicions about Light as well, though he is not comfortable with it."

"Alright. I'll bring everything I have on the Death Note, and I'll bring the Death Eraser as well."

"Thank you." L began to walk to the door, the old man right behind him. He stopped and turned his head slightly. "You should know that what you have been doing is very noble, Taro Kagami. Not many people would actively go against Kira. Especially a child."

"I had to. I'm the one who caused all of this." Taro could feel tears welling up in his eyes, and he fought them back. He felt guilty for all the death that he caused, for the corruption of Sayu's brother.

"You didn't cause this," L told him. "This would have happened no matter what." He walked out of the room, leaving Taro sitting in the chair. He could feel his tears welling up once again, and couldn't stop them from falling.

* * *

**How'd you like it? I know Misa wouldn't know that L goes by the name Ryuzaki, but I used the name anyway. It's shorter than I thought. I'll try and get the next chapter up soon, promise.**


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